Identities Of Nigerians On The Internet Will Be Known With NIN – Isa Patanmi
By Odili Ogochukwu
Minister of communications and the digital economy, Mr. Isa Pantami, has said that the national identification number (NIN) will reveal the identity of any Nigerian on the internet.
Isa Pantami disclosed in Paris, during the Nigeria International Partnership Forum.
Africa Investigative Magazine (AFIMAG) gathered that the forum aimed at attracting investors to Nigeria.
Pantami stated that the federal government would capture the identities of citizens who log into the internet for security benefit.
His words: “Some of these initiatives that happen to be the foundation of even our economy is the introduction of the national identification number. Nigeria has joined the global community by making the use of national identification numbers for both citizens and legal residents mandatory.
“This is going to be the foundation of our economy and also the foundation of our security that whoever happens to go online, his identity will be known by the federal government and also by our security institution.
“As in our constitution 1999 as amended section 14(2)(b), that the primary responsibility of government is security and safety of its citizens, it is because of this that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about that and he has been pushing that we establish the foundation of our economy and the foundation of our security on the national identification number so that identity of our citizens and legal residents will be known.
“As it is today, the enrollment has been over 67 million and most importantly we can capture the most important category of people that come out to do businesses.
“So it becomes a prerequisite to enjoying government services and I believe this will bring more peace of mind to potential investors to know that the government has been doing something significant in that regard.
“Recently the country has also launched and commissioned a national center for artificial intelligence and robotics that focuses more on research and coming up with innovative solutions in the area of security and now the center in collaboration with security institutions is in the process of developing robots and many more that are going to be deployed to make our country safe and sound,” he said.