The Nigerian Identity Management Commission, NIMC, has disclosed plans to establish centres in all 889 wards across the country to ensure accessibility for all Nigerians.
This was disclosed at a two-day roundtable discussion at the weekend with publishers of online newspapers in Abuja by the deputy director and head of Human Capital Management Department, Rhoda Jackden-Nime.
Jackden-Nime, who said the commission has centres across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, added that further spread to all the 889 wards across the nation would allow easy access for Nigerians and legal residents in the country.
“Our plans to have centres across all the wards across the country,” she said.
Also speaking, the director of Card Management Services Department of NIMC, Peter Iwegbu said the commission is putting finishing touches to roll out special cards for senior citizens above 60 years in the country in order to cater for the elderly in the society.
He said the card, which is likely to be flagged off in the first quarter of 2025, will entitle senior citizens to have access to unique services and special privileges.
According to him, the director-general of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote has carried out review and addressed the challenges stalling issuance of cards since she assumed office a year ago.
Speaking on the General Multipurpose Card at the workshop themed ‘Building Formidable Bridges With the Digital Media Ecosystem,’ he said “special cards are to be issued to senior citizens to access unique services and privileges. We are working on that. We are working with the Senior Citizens Centre.”
He also disclosed that another card that will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2025 would allow palliatives to be passes to the low and vulnerable in the society.
Iwegbu further disclosed that NIMC is working with about 20 agencies and other stakeholders in that direction.
The director also disclosed that there are presently two million processed cards uncollected by Nigerians across the country.
“Some of them did not request for the cards. We produced them from our database. Some of them have also relocated from where they were registered and captured.
“But the new cards are now based on request,” he stated.
Answering question on fraudulent and bad eggs in NIMC, Iwegbu explained that everyone that is employed in NIMC goes through security checks.
Speaking further on the cards for senior citizens, the assistant director of Operations, Akwitti O. Akwitti disclosed that the database showed that there is 5.8 million Nigerians that presently fall into the category of senior citizens in Nigeria.
He broke the figure down to 2.3 million female and 3.5 million male.
Akwitti, however, said the total figure is not stagnant as it keeps increasing by the day.
Highlighting the key milestones in NIMC under Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote in the last one year, Olusola Ogunrawaye said a lot of the NIMC system and services which had been used over 10 years ago had been made functional by the director-general.
