The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has been summoned by the House of Representatives over the delay in releasing National Identity Cards from 2012 to the present. The Director-General of the National Identity Card Management Commission, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has also been summoned in connection with this matter.
The decision to summon these officials came following the adoption of a motion titled “Need to Investigate the National Identity Cards Released from 2012 to Date” by Rep. Muhammed Shehu (PDP-Bauchi) during the plenary session in Abuja on Wednesday.
The purpose of the motion is to investigate the reasons behind the delay in issuing the national identity card. The House urged the committees on Population and Anti-Corruption to report their findings back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.
Mr. Shehu highlighted that despite the availability of resources for rapid production and electoral transparency, Nigerians have faced obstacles in updating their information with the National Identity Card Management Commission’s database. He attributed this to a lack of attention from the government and ineffective service delivery.
Despite receiving annual budgetary allocations in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to fulfill its mandate, the efforts to produce and release national identity cards have been unsuccessful, according to Mr. Shehu. Urgent intervention and the attention of the Federal Government are therefore required.
He emphasized the necessity of government intervention in restructuring the commission to ensure effective service delivery and revitalize its operations, with the goal of providing accurate data and identification documents to the citizens, thereby restoring the confidence of the Nigerian populace.
