New Telegraph

Linking SIM to NIN’ll enhance security, aid planning –Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that linking individual mobile subscriber identification module (SIM) with the National Identity Number(NIN) will significantly enhance security, aid in national planning and budget preparations. The President gave this assurance yesterday at the launching of the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in Nigerian Telecoms Sector and Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Cards registration. Buhari, who reiterated his administration’s commitment to safety of the people, called on Nigerians to fully participate in the ongoing synchronization of NIN with SIM cards across the country as it will provide a digital framework for improving security and strengthening of the economy. “The NIN will cover one of the weaknesses in our security structure.

We will be able to easily identify and know the personality of Nigerians. We will identify people easily, including the crooks,’’ he said. “The National Identification Number is the foundational digital ID for the country; both Nigerian citizens and legal residents are expected to obtain the NIN.

It will provide access to government services and will give government useful insights that will enable us to utilize scarce resources in a more efficient way,’’ he added. Buhari noted that the first National SIM Policy was launched in February 2020, and the revised policies were in full alignment with the objectives of the administration in the areas of economic development, security and anti-corruption. According to him, the Digital Economy sector has made significant progress and recorded a number of unprecedented achievements since the expansion of the mandate of the Ministry of Communications to include the digital economy mandate.

The President prided the ICT sector as the fastest growing sector in 2020 saying “The sector’s 14.70 per cent double digit growth rate played a principal role in supporting our country to exit the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth rate of the sector exceeded four times the next fastest growing sector of Q4 2020, ICT Sector which had a growth rate of 3.42 per cent.

This is truly commendable.” He also noted that the digital economy sector provided online options for activities that were hitherto restricted to offline channels, while minimizing the disruption to activities of both public and private sectors, and reducing cost of meetings.

Read Previous

Catholic Church suspends Fr. Mbaka for 30 days

Read Next

Senate keeps mum after four hours meeting with service chiefs

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *