Analysts have revealed that there is every indication that the Nigerian Identify Management Commission (NIMC) needs to embark on massive public awareness and enlightenment programmes.

CEOAFRICA gathered according to the Analyst view that the programmes are to geared towards educating Nigerians on the process and benefits of obtaining the new national ID card particularly its implications for security, immigration and financial inclusion.

This conclusion by the analyst agrees with the findings from the ID card snap poll that about 58 percent of Nigerians appear not to be aware of the new proposed national ID card scheme, but the vast majority (80 percent) are still of the opinion that the scheme is priority to Nigeria, thus affirming their support.

According to the NOI Poll, 60 percent of those interviewed were of the opinion that the most important benefits of owning the national ID card are that it will serve as a means of identification and proof of citizenship.

Established by the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, the NIMC has the mandate to establish, own, operate, maintain and manage the National Identity Database in Nigeria, register persons covered by the responsibility of assigning a Unique National Identification Number (NIN), issue General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPC) to those registered individuals, harmonise and integrate existing identification database in Nigeria.

Further findings revealed that about 6 in 10 (62 percent) Nigerians claimed to have the Old National ID card, and out of these, the majority (48 percent of 62 percent) have experienced various levels of difficulty in the processes involved in obtaining an ID card.

Considering Nigeria’s huge population (currently estimated at 174 million), analysts say great consideration has to be given to setting up the facilities and procedure for the scheme, in order to improve efficiency and make the process easy.

The new ID card therefore will have 13 applications, including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology which was introduced to enhance financial inclusion and boost the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The new ID card would further serve as a formal electronic payment solution in the country which would in turn enhance security, convenience and reliability of electronic payments through unique National Identification Number (NIN) of duly registered persons.

However the reintroduction of the new ID card scheme by the Federal Government has been fashioned towards combating several challenges which have bedevilled the process of obtaining National Identification cards in the past.