Nigeria building digital economy through identification – Pantami

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has said that Nigeria is making progress in building a digital economy through the ongoing registration of the National Identification Number (NIN).

The Minister stated this at the ongoing ID4Africa 2022 Annual General Meeting taking place in Morocco.

According to him, there are four prerequisites to achieving a digital economy when it comes to citizens’ involvement. The first, he said, is digital identity; second, bank account; third, broadband penetration; and the fourth is smartphone penetration.

As of May 26, 2022, 82.73 million Nigerians had enrolled for the NIN, according to the data released by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

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Speaking during a one-on-one panel session with the Executive Chairman of ID4Africa, Dr. Joseph Atick, Pantami said: “The goal in Nigeria is to have the National Identity Database as the primary database which will be utilized in national planning & the foundational ID for building a digital economy.”

He also urged fellow African countries at the conference to prioritize data privacy and protection in securing foundational ID systems.

The ID4Africa conference is the highest gathering for the promotion of digital identification in Africa and it brings together policymakers in the African continent’s digital identity sector to actively engage, discuss identity matters and set out an agenda for foundational ID development.

The 2022 annual meeting, which is held between June 15 and 16, has the theme: Identity in Context: The Digital Transformation Journey.

The meeting seeks to provide innovative solutions to increase the number of persons with a national ID number in Africa, issued by a robust and inclusive foundational Identification (ID) system that facilitates their access to various services in line with global best practices.

The Nigerian delegation to the conference consists of individuals from both the public and private sectors, state government officials, academia, and tech industry experts, among others.