One of the continent’s leading cards & digital payment schemes, Verve, has thrown its support behind the Federal Government’s efforts to create a robust digitisation framework for comprehensive identity management for Nigerians.
According to a press release, the Federal Government, through the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), in 2019, joined the coalition calling for the recognition of September 16 as International Identity Day to further consolidate its target of a comprehensive digital identity management system
The statement said that at the event marking this year’s National Identity Day at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Divisional Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) for Payment Cards and Digital Tokens, Interswitch Group (parent company of Verve), Vincent Ogbunude, restated the firm’s commitment towards supporting a digital ecosystem in tandem with the aims of the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy. Ogbunude said: “Verve is proud to be supporting the federal government on this project.
This partnership underpins our commitment and investment to grow the digital identity management system in Nigeria. At Interswitch we understand the critical place for identity, indeed we believe that a person’s identity is a fundamental human right that should not be trifled with.”
Emphasising the importance of having an identity management database for Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and the 7th most populous nation in the world, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said that a comprehensive identity database was important in identifying the total number of residents in the country.