Federal Government says foreign diplomats who will reside in Nigeria for a continuous period of two years or more must obtain the National Identity Number.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, said this in a statement by his Technical Assistant, Dr Femi Adeluyi, on Sunday.
According to him, an enrolment centre has been established for the foreign diplomats at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement read, “The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has approved the setting up of a National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment centre at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The desk will be set up by Tuesday, 19th of January, 2021.
“This enrolment centre will provide support for members of the Diplomatic Corps and will be managed by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the National Identity Management Commission.
“The centre is being set up based on the request of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, in order to simplify the process for diplomats.
“The National Identity Number is mandatory for diplomats who will reside in Nigeria for a continuous period of two years or more.
“It is also mandatory for all other lawful residents in the country as stated in Section 16 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007.
“The Law has made it mandatory for Nigerians and legal residents to obtain a NIN since 2007. However, compliance has been low, until recently.”
Selling properties to fund 2021 budget’ll be detrimental to Nigeria -SERAP
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project says selling public properties to fund the 2021 budget will be detrimental to Nigeria’s well-being in the future.
SERAP, therefore, advised the Senate President Dr Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of House of Representatives Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, to review the 2021 appropriation legislation to stop the President Muhammadu Buhari administration from selling public properties to fund the 2021 budget.
Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had last week reportedly confirmed that the Federal Government would sell some-government-owned properties to fund the 2021 budget.
But SERAP in a letter dated January 16, 2021, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said, “The National Assembly has a constitutional and oversight responsibility to protect valuable public properties and to ensure a responsible budget spending. Allowing the government to sell public properties, and to enjoy almost absolute discretion to borrow to fund the 2021 budget would amount to a fundamental breach of constitutional and fiduciary duties.
“Selling valuable public properties to fund the 2021 budget would be counter-productive, as this would be vulnerable to corruption and mismanagement. It would undermine the social contract with Nigerians, leave the government worse off, and hurt the country in the long run. It is neither necessary nor in the public interest.
“The country’s fiscal situation must be changed – and changed quickly – through some combination of cuts in spending on salaries and allowances, and a freeze on spending in certain areas of the budget such as hardship and furniture allowances, entertainment allowances, international travels, and buying of motor vehicles and utilities for members and the Presidency.”