National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has finalised plans to get indigenous firms to manufacture national e-ID cards. This initiative by NIMC is in line with the Nigerian local content policy and it was revealed along with a shortlist of six companies vying for the contract.
NIMC has over time been understudying the e-ID card manufacturing industry and has therefore set out to collaborate with local manufacturers with significant competence in the production of e-ID cards. The commission has expressed its desire to help local manufacturers get the much needed level of technical expertise and certification, which has so far made local production impossible.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, NIMC’s General Manager Finance and Administration stated that the idea behind this initiative is to foster “indigenous expertise and enhance technology transfer as well as create employment opportunities”.
NIMC’s pilot scheme, set up in 2012, has so far delivered 6.6 million units of e-id cards, which are currently being issued to residents in Abuja and Lagos and will be available in other states across the nation shortly.
