Nigerians to pay for new multipurpose national ID card as NIMC claims government can’t fund production

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.

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.

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

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Also speaking, Lanre Yusuf, director of information technology at NIMC, said the idea of a free national ID card did not turn out well in the past.

Yusuf described the new ID card as a post-paid identity card, which means that individuals must need the card before initiating a request for it.

“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 director said.

“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.”

Yusuf also said the multipurpose ID cards are expected to launch soon, with sample test cards already received.

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

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