The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has said over 100 million Nigerians have no official identity across the country.
The director-general/CEO of the NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, disclosed this during a paper presenting on the theme: “Database Management and National Development in Nigeria” in at a seminar in Abuja, said all levels of government – federal, state and local – must be supported with funding to produce credible data on all areas of operations and services.
Aziz, in a statement issued by the head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Kayode Adegoke, said, ”the over 10 million Nigerians data includes typically, the poorest and most vulnerable groups, including marginalized women and girls, less-educated people migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons people with disabilities, and people living in rural and remote areas.
“Only about 38% of the population have any form of ID, 61% of the people live below the poverty line, 22% of labour force involve the unemployed youth, 52.7% of the population are 24 years and below, while 25.9% of the population are above 60 years (pensioners).
“The quality, integrity and availability of accurate data affect decision making and faster actions.
NIMC plays a strategic key role in Identity Data Management in Nigeria. Government must drive citizen data management and harmonization on of legacy databases for national, regional and local governments’ development,” he said.
