Director-general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Engr Abisoye Coker-Odusote has said the proposed amendment to the NIMC Act of 2007 would help Nigeria realise the enormous benefits of the fourth industrial revolution.
She said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to pushing the frontiers of the nation’s digital economy through a robust and inclusive foundational identity system.
Coker-Odusote said the initiative will reposition the digital economy and enable Nigerians reap the enormous benefits of the fourth industrial revolution.
The DG spoke at the opening of a one-day roundtable workshop on the proposed amendment of the NIMC Act.
In a statement issued yesterday by her technical adviser on media and communications, Ayodele Babalola, the DG said, “NIMC is mandated to create and manage a centralised national identity database that enables provision of a secure, verifiable identity and enables authentic verification of the identity of registrable individuals anywhere in the country, that facilitates service delivery from the government and the private sector.”
The NIMC DG said it is imperative that the process of carrying out amendments to such an important legislation as the NIMC Act involves robust engagements with all critical stakeholders in the country, in the quest to reposition the NIMC for the future.
She said the proposed amendment is among a series of innovative and sustainable legal reforms being undertaken by the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project, NDID4D.
The reforms include amendments to the cybercrimes and cybersecurity Acts, electronic transaction Act and the NPC Act.
“These are indications of the federal government’s commitment to implementing the “the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030) commissioned by the African Union, which the President Chairs,” he said.