Kaduna announces mandatory use of Resident Cards, NINs from May 1

*The Kaduna State Government has said the new policy is being implemented with a view to improving service delivery, digital economy, e-governance initiatives, social and financial inclusion, and much more

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As a measure to further improve social service delivery at all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), digital economy and e-governance initiatives, social and financial inclusion, the Kaduna State Government, in Northern Nigeria, has called on the general public to note that its MDAs will not offer services to any person who does not have the Kaduna Residents Card or the National Identification Number (NIN) as from May 1, 2021.

Dr. Zayyad Tsiga, Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Residents’ Registration Agency (KADSRRA) stated this Thursday, February 25, Vanguard report said.

KADSRRA Executive Secretary said: “Kaduna State has the second-highest number of enrolments into the National Identity Database (NIDB) with 3,130,857 enrolments against the projected population of 9,476,055 million people giving us coverage of about 33 per cent as of February 15, 2021.

“This new policy is being implemented with a view to further improving service delivery at all MDAs, the state’s digital economy and e-governance initiatives, social and financial inclusion, and much more, to the benefits of our dearest residents.”

According to him, to achieve 100 percent enrolment of Kaduna State residents into the national database in the nearest future, there will be additional enrolment centres in all the 255 wards in the state.

Tsiga noted that the model Primary Health Care Centres would be used for the exercise in addition to the current 73 enrolment centres across the State.

“The State, through its Residents Registration Agency, KADSRRA, plans to begin the distribution of the State Residents Card in the first quarter of this year.

“The card seeks to eliminate the need for multiple ID cards across various use cases in the State. Some key examples of such cards include hospital, university, and employee ID cards,” said the Executive Secretary.

Dr Tsiga clarified that only residents “who have an NIN, with a valid Kaduna State residential address, will be issued a State Residents Card…. This is to ensure that the data of our residents is only collected once.

“Residents who have obtained their NIN using an address of another state, and now reside in Kaduna, are required to visit any enrolment centre to update their NIN with their current Kaduna address in order to get a State Residents Card.”

Meanwhile, he disclosed that KADSRRA has been “working closely with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), since this administration came into office in 2015.”

The working relationship is “to foster the orderly development of an identity sector in order to build a modern identity management system for Nigeria, while specifically expediting enrolment of Kaduna State Residents into the National Identity Database, NIDB,” he added.