Digital Economy Will Not Be Possible Without NIN- Pantami

Nigeria’s plan to transform into a digital economy by 2030 may not be possible without adequate and consistent database for identity purposes, the Ministry of  Communication and Digital Economy  has said.

Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy said this on Thursday at the Global Privacy Day Celebration organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency.

The Federal Government had in 2019 set a road map for the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy which will trigger economic growth.

The Digital Economy Strategy would reposition the Nigerian Economy in order to take advantage of the many opportunities that digital technologies provide.

But poor data capture of Nigerians has frustrated government’s effort which led to a directive mandating all Nigerians to register for National Identification Number.

Pantami said, “The current efforts of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in encouraging Nigerians to register for the National Identity Number is a strategic and critical national effort to ensure Nigerians have a credible, converged and consistent database for identity purposes.

“The value of this would become appreciated with the ease at which e-government services would be delivered, the reduction in crime, and general efficiency guaranteed by the database.

“Identifying every Nigeria is a soft infrastructure needed to achieve our digital economy objective. Indeed, the needed pieces for the digital economy is falling in place and we are committed to laying a solid and lasting foundation for a digital Nigeria.”