The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says Nigerians will have to pay for the new multipurpose national identity card due to limited government revenue.

Peter Iwegbu, head of card management services at NIMC, spoke on Thursday at a two-day press conference in Lagos.

Iwegbu said paying for the identity card would ensure it is produced for only those who needed it.

He said the decision was made to avoid repeating the mistake of past efforts to issue physical cards to Nigerians for free, which many did not collect.

The NIMC official said over two million cards were produced in a previous attempt to issue free national ID cards by the commission

He said many of them have not been collected till date.

“Before we stopped due to funding, we produced more than two million cards but a lot of them are still in our office, people didn’t pick them up because they didn’t need it,” Iwegbu said.

Aside from low collection, Iwegbu said the government could not fund the production of ID cards due to limited revenue.

“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he added.

He said  NIMC is also working with banks across the country, which will make it possible for people to walk into any bank closest to them and request the card.

‘GOVERNMENT HAS MADE PLANS FOR LESS PRIVILEGED PERSONS WHO CAN’T AFFORD IT’

Also speaking, Lanre Yusuf, director of information technology at NIMC, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out well in the past.

Yusuf described the new ID card as a post-paid identity card, which means that individuals must need the card before initiating a request for it.

“To get the new national ID card, Nigerians will need to make a payment, select a pickup location, and then collect their card from the chosen location,” the director said.

“The government has implemented programmes to make the card accessible to the less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford it but require it to access government support.

“This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to inclusivity and equality.” 

Yusuf also said the multipurpose ID cards are expected to launch soon, with sample test cards already received.

“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services,” he said.

In April, the federal government unveiled plans to launch a multipurpose national identity card.

The card, powered by AfriGO, is in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.

The card is enabled for all government intervention and services across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

The Cable