Nigeria continues its search to get it right on its national identification card as the country plans to spend another 2 billion dollars on the project which an expatriate stooge of the former ruling clique once described as a fat cow waiting for everyone to milk.
Gilbert Chagouri, a Nigerian-Lebanese told the country’s highest law making body in 2000, after collecting an estimated one billion dollars on the project that did not fly. It is estimated that over two billion dollars has been wasted till date. But the country’s Federal Executive Council has a renewed hope as it said on Wednesday in Abuja, that is has approved 2 billion dollars for the implementation of the first phase of a Unified Identity Management System for Nigerians from 18 years and above.
The Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, disclosed this after the FEC meeting, presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting which lasted for about eight hours, Maku said the new National Identity Card would be a digital biometric chip to be used for many purposes.
The minister said the project, which would be managed by the National Identity Management Commission, would be executed in conjunction with different agencies of government.
According to him, the new integrated system, will network all existing data from agencies such as INEC, FRSC and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), among others, to create a common data base for their usages.
He said the new system will reduce cost of data management by several public institutions, including banks and pension commission.
Besides, the minister said the new system would be useful for national security management since all citizens’ data were expected to be captured.
Maku said the first phase of the project as approved by FEC, was expected to start from 2011 and spread to 2013.
The Council also approved the professionalisation and pooling of Planning and Policy Analysis Officer cadre in the federal public service for deployment into various Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
Maku said the approval was given by the Council to strengthen planning, policy analysis and data gathering functions in MDAs, particularly in the execution of government projects.
“It has been observed over time that government programmes and projects have suffered due to lack of data, analysis and well coordinated plans.’’
“Also evaluation of project execution and performance has been very difficult because data collection and analysis have been rather uncoordinated.
“In view of the present emphasis on the execution of national transformation programme toward the realisation of national vision 20: 20 20, planning should now take centre stage in the public service.’’
The officer, according to the minister, will be under the coordinating supervision of the National Planning Commission and will be used in the process and formulation of plans, monitoring and evaluation, and data gathering.