News
NIMC DG Set to Bow Out, Says Commission Achieves Paradigm Shit
Chris Onyemenam, director general/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), who will exit as the DG/CEO of the commission this week after eight years of active service, said the Commission has achieved a paradigm shift with the successful setup and implementation of the National Identity Management Scheme (NIMS) in the country.
Onyemenam was optimistic that by 2016, the Commission would have populated the National Identity database with the data of over 80 million Nigerians, noted that the harmonization of data with the MDAs have started in earnest as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The NIMC DG who made the statement in an interview session with journalists at the weekend, also said the specific value proposition that flows from the NIMS cuts across the three tiers of government, as well as the private sector and includes the family, and even the international society.
According to him, if you take it by extension to the civil service generally, the concept of ghost workers or duplicate identities will be eliminated. “No one can be in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) more than once, because the individual will be traced through the alignment of the ‘unique’ identities in the biometrics driven IPPS and the National Identification Number (NIN).
Expressing confidence in the current setup of the Unique Identification Scheme under the NIMS, he said what the Commission is doing is in tandem with global best practice, which says, “Uniquely identify every citizen and legal resident, in terms of ‘who you are’ and not what you are eligible to like benefit identities or what you can participate in like the Voter card, or what you are obliged to like Tax, or what you need to have like the driver’s license.”
Onyemenam explained: “Therefore, the ability to create a single version of truth of the identities of individuals that will serve the entire country is what we have set up at NIMC, because the NIMS is a cross cutting platform. If you don’t know people and they commit a crime, they can deny it. If someone is able to have more than one identity then they can benefit from their own acts of deception.
Today, Advance fee fraud, popularly known as 419 is rampant because people can claim to be who they are not and still get away with it.
So in terms of fighting crime, what we have done with the NIMS is an important tool for law enforcement agencies to fight crime, corruption and/or ensuring that the war against corruption succeeds, because you can’t hide from yourself after having been identified by the Commission” You can only hide for a while, you cannot refuse to pay tax and hope not to be caught somehow, not possible.
He added: “Because enrolment on the NIMS platform covers the period from ‘birth to death, it provides economic planners of the country that hardcore data about some of the socio-economic characteristics of citizens in a slightly more factual sense than what other organisation provides, e.g., if you know the people in the age bracket 0-13 and you want to be able to feed them in schools, it’s a bit easier and more purposive with the NIMS becuase you will use the uniqueness of the identity that has been given to them, to ensure that the benefit goes to them only.
The same applies to scholarships, bursaries, stipends to the unemployed, etc. this is the kind of benefit that you derive from the element of non-repudiation and unique identification which make the the administration of subsidies, special programmes, and general economic management or economic governance in the country more targeted and development-oriented.
He also added that the previous efforts driven by the Department of National Civil Registry (DNCR), before it was taken over by the NIMC, focused on Card issuance, and the cards were issued to people aged 18 years and above as if they are the only citizens who were entitled to being identified.
“That made a nonsense of that scheme because it created an opportunity for politicizing the scheme and also, it didn’t measure up to global best practice of uniquely identifying every individual.”
Unless and until the view that unique identification is different from the card scheme flowing from that infrastructure, the role of the Card will always be misconstrued to mean the ‘end product’ of a unique identification scheme.
The card is not your identity. It is really the number, NIN that is your identity.
It never changes and cannot be issued to another person, your card can get lost and be replaced but the number remains.
He noted that the harmonization of data with the MDAs have started in earnest as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added that harmonization with the BVN is over 95% complete and the data migration which will enable the NIMC have a copy of the BVN data has been successfully piloted and would soon be completed.
“Although the harmonization will help populate the database, I hope that Government will stop funding all schemes that are not fully aligned with the NIMS as a way of ensuring the speedy completion of the harmonization and eliminating needless fiscal provisions that continue to undermine the future of identity management in Nigeria.
While admitting that Government would still provide for data capture during this transitional/harmonization period, the DG said this would be very minimal and would certainly stop the planned billions of naira for data capture activities for 2019 and the 2016 biometric census – two needless duplication of efforts, he said.
He noted that most of those who today are critical of the NIMS project have neither enrolled nor visited the NIMC to ee the state of the art infrastructure before making unguarded comments about the NIMS.
The NIMS he said, now needs to be scaled up, from this ‘pilot phase’ , having proven that it is ‘fit for purpose’ .
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
eTranzact International Plc has called for increased adoption of digital payment solutions among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), saying access to technology is critical to improving business efficiency, financial inclusion and growth.
The company also said it was deepening its partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to expand digital access and financial literacy among small businesses across the country.
In a statement, the Divisional Head, Merchant Services, eTranzact, Mrs. Abimbola Reis, stated this at the SMEDAN/eTranzact Town Hall Engagement in Lagos recently, themed, “Financial Literacy and Inclusion for MSMEs Leveraging on Fintech Innovation.”
Reis described MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, noting that the sector comprises almost 40 million businesses and contributes significantly to economic growth and job creation.
However, she said many businesses continue to face challenges including limited access to finance, inefficient payment systems, weak financial reporting, cash-flow constraints and inadequate access to digital platforms.
She added that trust concerns also affect businesses’ ability to access finance, while heavy reliance on cash increases exposure to theft and makes payment reconciliation more difficult.
Representing the Director-General of SMEDAN, Prof. Yinka Fisher said the town hall was aimed at generating practical ideas and solutions that would support the growth and expansion of MSMEs.
“The essence of this engagement is to share ideas and concepts that will help MSMEs thrive and expand. Our partnership with eTranzact is about expanding the frontiers of MSMEs and ensuring they continue to grow,” he said.
Also speaking, representative of the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Praise Adedigba said businesses could no longer depend solely on hard work to remain competitive.
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