National Identity Management Commission says it has harmonised 11 million Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) with the National Identity Numbers (NINs) of the bank account holders.
NIMC Director General, Aliyu Aziz, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at a press conference to herald activities to celebrate the National Identity Day 2020.
Aziz also said the commission had intensified synergy with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other data collection agencies on the harmonisation of Nigerians’ data.
The commission’s director general disclosed that NIMC registers an average of 500, 000 Nigerians every month for their unique identities.
Aziz added that more than 42 million Nigerians have been issued with the National Identification Number (NIN) as at last month.
He said the commission planned to registering five million Nigerians in a month to be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal which calls for the legal identity for all, including birth registration by 2030.
“Right now, 42 million Nigerians have unique NIN. It is the number that matters and not the card just like BVN, it is the number and not card,” he said.
The NIMC boss added that the country’s large population and growth rate posed a challenge to the commission.
He said in line with the theme of this year’s celebration, the commission is focused on registering people at the grassroots to ensure enough data for planning and development.
“The focus is on the grassroots, those who require palliatives and assistance from government. They are the people that require much help from all of us now and we will go to them,” he said.
He said the commission would soon begin the registration of 2.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the country.
“The NIN does not confer citizenship. It is for both citizens and people that are legally resident here. If you are not a legal resident, we do not have any business with you; it is the security agencies. It does not discriminate, it is for everyone,” he said.
Aziz said funding had been an issue for the commission while it was also affected by COVID-19.