The National Identity
Management Commission (NIMC) said it has completed all plans to deploy the
National Identification Number (NIN) authentication and
verification Service link to all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s)
and Banks.
The General Manager,
Information Technology and Identity Database (IT/IDD), Mr. Chuks Onyepunuka, in an interview, stated that the deployment was
part of the Commission’s strategy to ensure the proposed
September commencement of the mandatory use of NIN.
According to him, all Government
institutions and Agencies who require the biometrics of individuals to offer
functional services or for security reasons are required by Law to key into the
NIMC National Identity Database for the purpose of identity management and
verification.
He noted that NIMC has before now, deployed the
authentication and verification service link to the office of one of the
security agencies and would soon after extend to other security agencies. The
NIMC is now set to deploy a pilot phase to MDA’s and Banks.
Mr. Onyepunuka
further noted that NIMC is discussing with on the MDA’s and Banks to enable
them ascertain the infrastructure to achieve the deployment of the NIN authentication and
verification service link to their various offices nationwide.
“These
institutions include the banks, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Ministry of
Aviation, Joint Tax Board (JTB), State House, National Universities Commission
(NUC), National Pension Commission (PenCom), Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board (JAMB), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), etc.,” he further
noted.
At a commercial demonstration
session which held at the NIMC headquarters recently, Mr. Onyepunuka
disclosed that the verification and authentication of the NIN can be done at two
levels: the online, which has two approaches, and the offline platform.
“The online version has the web portal approach used
for NIN verification alone; while the desk top is a robust windows based
approach that allows an individual or organisation to conduct the NIN,
Fingerprint, demographics and document number verification,” he said.
He explained that on presentation of the NIN or the
fingerprints, the individual or organisation requesting such proof shall
utilise the online National Identity Management System (NIMS) NIN verification
service through the authentication and verification Clearing House to confirm
such identity.
He added: “For the offline platform, on presentation
of the National Electronic Identity Card, the individual or organization
requesting such identity, shall authenticate the identity by conducting a Match
on Card verification (MoC), an irrefutable offline confirmation by requesting
the person to provide his finger prints on a card reading device to enable the
matching of the finger print provided with the finger prints stored in the chip
of the National eID Card.”
He further explained that the individual or organization requesting such a proof has access rights and privileges to
determine what category of verification he is allowed to conduct on the
individual and what category of data he is allowed to view.
He
urged Nigerians to take advantage of the over 400 enrollment centers nationwide
to enroll for the NIN because no government agency/institution, bank, or
insurance company, etc., offering services and/or involved in transactions
requiring the identity of an individual, will be allowed to conduct such a
transaction without first demanding for the NIN.
“Eligible applicants are urged to utilize
the NIMC pre-enrolment portal, https://penrol.nimc.gov.ng, to pre-enrol for the
NIN before proceeding to any NIMC enrollment centre closest to them for bio-metrics data capture.” He reiterated.
