The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, Abisoye Coker-Odusote said that Nigeria is on the right path to the harmonization of digital identity in the country.
Coker-Odusote disclosed this on Monday in her remarks at the 2024 National Day Identity held in Abuja.
Speaking on the title, Digital Public Infrastructure: Enabling Access To Services, Coker-Odusote noted that DP facilitates seamless access to public and private services across different sectors such as financial, healthcare and agriculture, amongst others.
According to her, through collaboration with critical stakeholders, the commission had been able to enroll over 110 million Nigerians.
“I must say we are on the right path and key strides have been made through collaboration and partnerships with government agencies and private sector players – linking of NINs and phone numbers with the telecommunication companies, NIN and Bank Verification Number (BVN) harmonization with financial institutions to facilitate digital payments, digital money, digital identity and digital processes, amongst others.
“Furthermore, the Student Loan Initiative showcases how DPI can eliminate financial barriers to education. By collaborating with 257 institutions, 332,715 students have been registered for loans, and over 18,000 students have already received payments through the initiative”, she stated.
On his part, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo stressed that Identity is critical to social and financial development.
The event has in attendance other key government functionaries and private sector operators including the Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Carl Cruz.
September, 16 has been designed globally to mark Identity Day.