GOVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State, south-west Nigeria, has made a public presentation of the first residency card issuance in the history of the country, to cater for the citizens of the state, through a project that is expected to cost as much as N950 million naira for its take-off.
At the flag-off of the project in the state capital of Akure, Governor Mimiko said that the residency card will assist his administration in measuring the delivery and direct impact of the socialized welfare programs of his government.
Promising not to renege on the focused cardinal objectives of his Labor Party in Ondo State, he said that it is now more feasible than ever before, to target specific professional groups and interests in offering assistance and macro credit that would grow the local economy and generate jobs.
Informational minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, captured the program in essence when he explained that no one would ever cross the lines to claim being a farmer in order to fraudulently benefit from and divert sales and use of fertalizer.
The initiative which, which may also substitute for voters card or identification instrument was proposed and made possible by the states ICT agency.
Project Coordinator of ‘Kaadi Igbe Ayo’, Mr. Tunde Yadeka, told ICT journalists last Tuesday that the card would serve so many functions relating to e-governance.
According to him, the state government would use it as a platform to have access to state residents in all free services in the areas of health care, education, agriculture, among other social and welfare packages.
He explained that the card would facilitate strategic planning and development, efficient record keeping, and human resources monitoring in the public sector. It will also facilitate anti-corruption solutions in the public sector, enable higher level of qualitative and quantitative service delivery in people oriented sub-sector such as health, education, transportation and agriculture, as well as facilitate the systematic development of databases for efficient security and surveillance purposes.
Giving more details of the card, Yadeka said several pieces of information could be stored in the electronic digital card. Such information, he said include health records of patients, blood group and genotype of individuals, individual bio-data, as well as records of free social services offered by the state government such as fertiliser distribution, immunisation, farm tools distribution, relief materials distribution, free drugs distribution for pregnant women and sick people, among several others.