Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state says registration for the national identity card will provide appropriate figure of the country’s population for effective national planning. The Governor stated this on Monday in Asaba, in an interview with newsmen on the maiden celebration of the National Identity Day. He said government at all levels would plan better and give proper attention to security in the country with proper documentation of Nigerians by the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC. Governor Okowa expressed gladness that September 16 every year had been set aside for the celebration of Identity Day, and solicited everyone’s commitment to making it work. The Governor noted that getting Nigerians to register with NIMC was important to the country, stressing that proper documentation would facilitate planning, as the greatest challenge of Nigeria as a nation was planning. He said things could only be properly done in the country with the right figures, but that most times projections were used due to lack of the various demography needed for planning. Okowa dwelt on the importance of identity to intelligence and security, pointing out the need for Nigerians to support the course and ensure it was not a one-day advocacy. The Governor expressed optimism that security challenges would be curbed with proper registration and documentation of Nigerians by NIMC. He urged the Federal Government to ensure that every Nigerian was registered as the current statistics of registered Nigerians was not encouraging. Okowa commended NIMC for its commitment to getting Nigerians registered for the National Identity Card and pledged the support of government to make the advocacy more impactful. The State Coordinator of NIMC, Barrister Henrietta Uche Okolo, said Delta was celebrating the national identity day in a special way and encouraged every Nigerian to go to the nearest enrolment centre and get enrolled for life. While emphasizing that enrolment was free, Barrister Okolo said over 36 million Nigerians had so far been registered nationwide, with only about one million persons in Delta, which she said was a far cry when compared to the population of the state. The State NIMC Coordinator commended he Okowa administration for its support for the commission and appealed for the sustenance of the relationship. |
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