With NIN, FG And Security Agencies Can Track Any Nigerian On The Internet – Pantami

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami has enumerated more of the advantages of the National Identification Number (NIN) enrollment embarked upon by the federal government.

The Minister highlighted that with the NIN in place, the security architecture of the country is further strengthened as the government and security agencies can track anyone who logs onto the internet.

He explained that the NIN is not only for citizens of Nigeria but also for legal residents in the country, adding that 67 million people have been captured in the process that is ongoing.

Pantami made this known while speaking at the Nigeria International Partnership Forum in Paris, France when he urged investors to take advantage of opportunities in the Nigerian economy.

“Some of these initiatives that happen to be the foundation of even our economy is the introduction of the national identification number. Nigeria has joined the global community by making the use of national identification numbers for both citizens and legal residents mandatory,” he explained.

“This is going to be the foundation of our economy and also the foundation of our security that whoever happens to go online, his identity will be known by the federal government and also by our security institution.

“As in our constitution 1999 as amended section 14(2)(b), that the primary responsibility of government is security and safety of its citizens, it is because of this that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about that and he has been pushing that we establish the foundation of our economy and the foundation of our security on the national identification number so that identity of our citizens and legal residents will be known,

“As it is today, the enrollment has been over 67 million and most importantly we are able to capture the most important category of people that come out to do businesses.”

He added that the possession of the NIN is now a major requirement to transact with the government and was made like that so potential investors would have greater “peace of mind” doing business in Nigeria.

He assured that more plans are in the pipeline to deploy technological solutions that will make Nigeria safer and investments more secure.

“So it becomes a prerequisite to enjoying government services and I believe this will bring more peace of mind to potential investors to know that the government has been doing something significant in that regard.

“Recently the country has also launched and commissioned a national center for artificial intelligence and robotics that focuses more on research and coming up with innovative solutions in the area of security and now the center in collaboration with security institutions is in the process of developing robots and many more that are going to be deployed to make our country safe and sound,” he added.