FG Mandates Universal Citizenship Registration Under All Conditions – International Edition

This element is included in a draft document that is presently under review by the National Assembly.

Just recently, the legislation cleared the second reading in the Senate, which means it must now undergo scrutiny by the House of Representatives before it can receive presidential approval, assuming he raises no objections.

So far, the legislation has cleared the second reading in the Senate following the review and adoption of a report presented by the Committee on National Identity Card and Population.

Senator Victor Umeh, who chairs the committee, stated that the bill aims to repeal and re-establish the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act.

According to the legislator, the purpose of the draft legislation is to simplify the process of registering digital IDs in Nigeria through the implementation of an integrated system that is both economical and aligns with international benchmarks for managing digital identities.

Discussions within the Nigerian government, including recommendations from the Senate Committee on ICT and Cyberspace Crime, have centered around consolidating all governmental databases with the aim of transforming identity verification systems.

As stated in the reported bill, a central identity database will be established along with a dedicated committee tasked specifically with registering citizens and issuing nationwide digital identification cards.

It remains uncertain whether this commission will assume full responsibility for ID issuance currently held by the NIMC.

The suggested modifications mandating mandatory ID registration in Nigeria are consistent with the government's wider initiatives aimed at reinforcing the nation’s digital identification legal structure. This initiative was initiated around the previous year and unveiled by NIMC, and serves as one of the prerequisites to access funding for the World Bank-supported digital ID project currently underway in the country.

In the previous year, an amendment proposal to the NIMC Act of 2007 suggested making digital IDs mandatory for foreign nationals residing in Nigeria.

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