Due to President Bola Tinubu’s government being cash-strapped, the National Identity Management Commission says Nigerians must pay for its new multipurpose national Identity card.

NIMC’s head of card management services, Peter Iwegbu, said this at a two-day roundtable organised for journalists in Lagos.

He said the payment was to ensure that it was produced for only those who needed it.

Mr Iwegbu said the decision was made to avoid repeating the mistake of the past efforts to issue physical cards to Nigerians for free, which many did not collect.

Mr Iwegbu said over two million cards were produced in a previous attempt to issue free National ID cards by the NIMC, but many of them had not been collected to date.

“The government’s limited revenue is also a major factor in the decision to make Nigerians pay for the new ID card,” he said.

Mr Iwegbu explained that the government could not fund the production of ID cards due to limited revenue.

NIMC’s IT director, Lanre Yusuf, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out well in the past.

Mr Yusuf described the new ID card as a post-paid identity card, meaning that individuals must need the card before initiating a request.

“To get the new national ID card, Nigerians will need to make a payment, select a pickup location, and then collect their card from the chosen location.

“The government has implemented programmes to make the card accessible to the less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford it but require it to access government support.

“This initiative demonstrates the government’s commitment to inclusivity and equality,” Mr Yusuf said.

He noted that the multipurpose ID cards were expected to launch soon, with sample test cards already received.

Mr Yusuf added that the NIMC had partnered with banks so that Nigerians could request and collect their cards from any bank branch to facilitate a seamless experience.

“NIMC is working with banks across the country, which will make it possible for people to walk into any bank closest to them and request the card.

“The new national ID card is a multipurpose card that can serve the purpose of identity verification, payments, and even government services,” he said.

The card, powered by AfriGO, was launched in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System.

The card will be enabled for all government interventions and services across multiple ministries, departments, and agencies.

(NAN)