–FG signals suspension of exercise
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By Ben Atonko
Nigerians want the federal government to put a stop to the ongoing registration for National Identification Number (NIN) process, opinion poll conducted by NatureNews reveals.
The exercise is a way of registering all citizens and giving them identification numbers so government can track the population increase/decrease and store personal information of citizens for security purpose.
Fifty percent of respondents voted No while 42 percent sought continuation of the exercise. Eight percent was neutral.
The poll which lasted for one week was open to all Nigerian adults. It was conducted online with the question “Should government cancel physical NIN registration process?”
There have been public health concerns by the way the exercise is handled. Crowding at registration centres was said to be breeding ground coronavirus.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave until end of last month for incorporation NIN with SIM cards.
This resulted in Nigerians thronging offices of the National Identity Number Commission (NINC) to acquire their numbers for link to their phone lines to avoid having their phone lines deactivated.
The National Task Force on National Identification Number and SIM Registration on 21st December, 2020 announced extension of the process by three weeks.
Even with the extension of the deadline, long queues were still seen at the registration centres.
Fraudulent activities like extortion of citizens seeking to be registered also dogged the exercise.
Due to all this, there have been appeals to the federal government to make the registration digital to avoid physical contacts.
Yesterday, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunnimbe Mamora reacted, saying the ongoing identification number enrolment may be suspended for fears of Covid-19 risks.
He urged NINC re-order the enrolment process to avoid large crowds at its centres nationwide.
Mamora, who is a member of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 said government has a duty to ensure Nigerians are protected at all times.
“My understanding is that the whole process may be suspended so as to reorder the whole process in terms of management of the crowd because it was never intended that it would become a rowdy process like that,” the minister regretted.
It will be second time government is giving in to pressure in four days. Only last Thursday, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was forced to suspend its adjusted electricity tariff regime that took effect this month.
NERC on Tuesday increased the electricity tariff payable by power consumers across the country with effect from January 1, 2021.
