National Identity Management Commission extends Nin deadline until March 31 2022

NIGERIA'S National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has extended the deadline for people to register for their National Identification Number (Nin) until March 31 in a bid to ensure every citizen is captured during the exercise.

Introduced to address a number of problems including voter fraud, census figure manipulation, multiple identities and general data falsification, the Nin subscriber identity module data verification exercise was launched by the NIMC. As of December 30 2021, the NIMC has issued over 71m NINs with over 14,000 enrolment centres set up across the country.

In addition, the NIMC has also set up enrolment centres in over 31 countries to cater for Nigerians in the diaspora.  This unprecedented growth in the national identity database to over 71m has been praised by Professor Isa Pantami, the minister for communications and digital technology.

Following a request by stakeholders, including local residents and diasporans, the federal government has extended the deadline of the exercise, originally due to end in December 2021, to March 31 2022.  This extension is to enable the government to consolidate the gains of the process and accelerate the enrolment of Nigerians in remote areas and the diaspora where more efforts are needed.

Professor Pantami has implored Nigerians and legal residents to enrol for their NINs as more services will be requiring it for identification. He also reiterated the commitment of the federal government to support the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) and the NIMC in ensuring that the objectives of the exercise are achieved.

NCC executive vice chairman Professor Umar Danbatta and Engineer Aliyu Aziz, the NIMC director-general, thanked all Nigerians and stakeholders for their commitment and support towards the success of the project. They also applauded the efforts of the respective staff in ensuring a seamless linkage and urged citizens and legal residents to complete the process of enrolment, verification and linkage on or before March 31.

In the UK for instance, 17 agencies have been licensed to provide Nin's to diasporans and the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK (Canuk) is working with them to offer the service to everyone. Yesterday, the Canuk chairman Ayo Akinfe, applied for his Nin with Pandus Powell Nigeria Limited in Thamesmead, in southeast London.

Mr Akinfe said: " It is important that all Nigerians realise that getting the National Identity Number is no longer optional but compulsory. Apart from the fact that you now need one to apply for the 10 year Nigerian passport, it is required for everything in Nigeria now including opening a bank account and acquiring a mobile phone.

"Anyone who thinks it does not affect them is mistaken because in the UK, if you have dual citizenship, when it is time to renew your British passport, the Home Office will ask to see your Nigerian passport. If everything does not match, the Home Office will reject your application and for the Nigerian documentation to be in order, you must have a Nin."

In November, interior minister Rauf Aregbesola formally launched the new enhanced 10-year Nigerian passport in the diaspora unveiling the new document at the Nigerian high commission in the UK in London. Launching the 64-page document assisted by the high commissioner to the UK Ambassador Sarafa Ishola, Mr Aregbesola said it now provides Nigerians with the option of a 32-page booklet with a five year validity, a 64-page booklet with  a five year validity or a 64-page booklet with 10 year validity.