ABUJA - A new national identity card will soon be introduced for Nigerians, Sen. Hosea Ehinlanwo, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Population and National ID Card, has said.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen at the weekend in Abuja, Ehinlanwo said the new ID card would be introduced ‘’within the next one or two years.’’
He said that the identity card currently in use was defective because it did not contain sufficient data on the holders, adding ‘’it has no database.’’
‘’This time around, we feel that we should be able to design a worthy National identity card for Nigerians which will carry vital details about every citizen above 18 years.
‘’As it is now, it can easily be manipulated. You can bear Johnson here in Abuja and by the time you move to Maiduguri, you can decide to bear Dele and that is why it has been very difficult for banks to accept it for transactions,’’ he added.
He also said that because of lack of sufficient details in the current identity card, the police had always found it difficult to trace and apprehend criminals using the information on the cards.
The chairman said N4 billion was budgeted this year for the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to enable it commence the process of producing ‘’a viable identity card for Nigerians.’’
Ehinlanwo explained that the commission would still utilise the equipment used to produce the current identity card, adding that provision would only be made to capture more details about the citizens.
‘’It is necessary to have all these details. It is not the provision of identity card that matters but a database that will capture all the particulars of the citizens,’’ he stated.
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