.., Aokesi automated NIN-SIM linkage system
….Okays multi-billion naira power projects in Daura Emirates, Potiskum, Ogun
…Okays Women’s Economic Empowerment Policy
From Juliana Taiwan-Abuja, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved new policies that will now allow Nigerians to ask their commercial banks to provide them with a debit card that can be used as their national identity card and There will be no additional charges on top of the normal fees charged by debit cards.
Communications and Digital Economy Minister Isa Pantami made the disclosure during a briefing to state assembly reporters after the farewell meeting of the council meeting at Villa Asoyan on Wednesday.
According to him, the memo, from the National Identity Regulatory Commission, allows banks to print debit cards that double as national ID cards.
“It will be a multi-purpose card that will serve as your national ID on the one hand and your bank card on the other hand, be it Mastercard, Visa or any other type of card,”
While the 2007 NIMC Act only required Nigerians to have a national identification number and not necessarily print the cards, demand for the cards is still ballooning, Pantami said.
He explained, “As per Section 27 of the NIMC Act 2007, our citizens and legal residents are required to obtain a National Identification Number, not an Identity Card. However, the card is optional.
“But many citizens, especially those living in rural communities, always go to the NIMC office to complain that they need the card at hand even though it is optional.
“To simplify the process, NIMC last year launched a smart ID card that you can download from the NIMC app. It’s just a smart card. You don’t need to physically have it, but it’s becoming a reality for those of us living in rural communities. It’s getting more and more difficult.”
To ease the difficulties, Pantami said, “NIMC has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria so interested citizens who have a card in hand can easily go to the relevant bank.”
“Banks are allowed to print the card alongside MasterCard or Visa. It will be a multipurpose card that will serve as your national ID card on the one hand and your bank card on the other. According to the agreement, Our citizens do not pay any additional fees.
“So when you apply for a card at a bank, you can say ‘I want this card to be multi-purpose, it can be used as both my bank card and my national ID card’. They will both be are printed on the same card and will be used for the same purpose without any additional cost.
“Therefore, the memorandum was also approved by the Federal Executive Council,” Pantami said.
The minister revealed that NIMC and CBN signed a non-disclosure agreement to protect the privacy and confidentiality of cardholders.
“NIMC and the central bank have signed a non-disclosure agreement and must respect your privacy and confidentiality in providing you with the card.
“When you apply for this card, the bank will apply online to NIMC through their database. When they verify and confirm that your record in the database matches your record in the NIMC database, they will be allowed and print it for you immediately. cards,” the outgoing minister told reporters.
The committee also approved a memorandum proposing the deployment of an automated system to integrate NINs with personal SIM cards, Pantami said.
He noted that the system aims to consolidate the implementation of the NIN-SIM link.
He said: “As we all know, the previous government tried unsuccessfully to verify NIN and SIM from 2011. In February 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of the policy and the revised policy was also issued in May 2021. It was released and announced by Mr. President on the 6th.
“For now, NIN and SIM policy registration is being implemented. To consolidate implementation.
“The Nigeria Communications Commission has put forward a proposal that will strengthen the implementation of the policy and bring additional benefits to it.”
Pantami boasted that the automated system would clean up the database and simplify the process of changing SIM cards for Nigerians or legal residents.
The commission also approved contracts to increase electricity supply across the country.
Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Electricity, said: “The council approved the engineering procurement, construction and financing contracts for the implementation of the 330 KV and 132 kV transmission lines and the 33 KV, 11 KV and 400 PE distribution lines projects. A presidential agreement in favor of both contractors The total value of the power initiative is US$ 581,629,355.93, including 7.5%, and the completion period is 36 months at the current exchange rate, as shown in the picture. “The first receiving companies, DL and Enugu DISCOS, Messes SLD electric from Benin. Then, Lot DM 3 Abuja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna DISCOS, Messes China civil engineering construction cooperation, the total distance of the two LOTs is about 13,000 kilometers, and was generously approved by the council. “
The minister also said, “The council approved the award of the contract to Proserv Energy Services Limited for the construction of a 750 kW solar photovoltaic power plant at the TCN headquarters in the amount of N1.6 billion including 7.5% VAT with a completion period of six months.”
Aliyu said: “The council also approved the routine maintenance of the Nigeria Transmission Company. The council approved the contract for the upgrade of the substation in Potiskum Township, Yobe State, which is equipped with 132 power transformers. It is an existing substation and there are For a long time there was only one transformer and it served many areas around Potiskum, the largest town in the state with a large population and a hub of commerce and transportation. So with this upgrade, Potiskum will be a hub for transmission and distribution.
“Another component of it is the line that brings additional lines from Damaturu. Previously, this line came from Gombe, which is more than 200 kilometers away. This is a 132 single line that goes into Potiskum to feed the substation. So now in Damaturu there is 330 Alternatives, which makes it easier and more prudent to get electricity from Damaturu to Potiskum for a distance of 120 km.Because the longer you stay on the 132 line, the worse the quality of electricity you get.
“So with the 132 single line from Gombe and the now proposed 132 from Damaturu to Potiskum, you will have double circuits and an additional 132 cable transformer, which is 60 MB. The second item in that memorandum is in Sapade, Ogun State The construction of two 60 MBA and 132 line transmission substations, supported by international technical experts from Messes VNK, has a total cost of US$10.2 million for the foreign part and N3.3 billion for the local part.
“The third is the supply and installation of 33 KV substation equipment in Daura Emirates Katsina State, which will help reduce the construction constraints of 4 billion naira in electricity transactions.”
Women’s Affairs Minister Pauline Tallen said the FEC endorsed the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) policy to help women enter the mainstream of financial planning and ensure they are supported in nation-building.
During the briefing, Attorney-General and Union Minister Abubakar Marami said the Cabinet meeting had also approved the formalization of a public-private partnership arrangement between the Federal Ministry of Justice and South Africa’s Lexis to issue Nigerian federal laws.
He said the contract was reviewed to accommodate technological developments and the application and implementation of the ICRC Act as it involved public-private partnerships.
The council also approved the operation and deployment of the federal government’s contract management system, Malami said.
He said it was a digital arrangement to ensure that the federal government’s interests were not compromised in the drafting of the contract.
The minister added that the council approved the extension of the public-private partnership arrangement between the Commonwealth Department of Justice and Messrs Jeffreps Integrated Services Limited to publish and market the Court of Appeal’s specialized legal reports.
“But this time, we’re looking at new innovations, particularly public-private partnership arrangements, which weren’t traditional before. Then there’s the ICRC Act, which didn’t exist then, and new innovations related to technology, bringing them into the future in the contract.
“Law reform is the outline of the Court of Appeal decision over time,” he added.