The Director-General and Chief Executive officer of the Nigeria Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Engineer Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has said that 332,715 students have been registered for loans, and over 18,000 students have already received payments from the federal government’s Student Loan initiative.
The DIrector-General spoke in Abuja on Monday to mark the National Day of Identity themed, “Digital Public Infrastructure – Enabling Access to Services in Nigeria.”
September 16 is the day set aside to highlight the importance of identity and its responsible use for inclusion, protection and empowerment.
She noted that with the Federal Government investments in social and palliative programmes to cushion the impact of the ongoing economic reforms on citizens, especially on the most vulnerable members of the society, the focus of the event was on a strong digital public infrastructure (DPI) to support the government’s initiatives is timely and relevant.
The DG shed light on the concept of DPI, the role NIMC plays as a key stakeholder, and the importance of DPI to facilitate seamless access to public and private services across different sectors such as financial, healthcare, agriculture, among others.
She explained that DPI refers to a digital network, which is typically built in the public sector, that enables countries to safely and efficiently deliver economic opportunities and social services to citizens and legal residents.
She said that DPI accelerates financial inclusion and transforms the lives of citizens by addressing challenges of physical distance and documentation, as well as high cost of transactions.
According to her, through this initiative, NIMC, responsible for the National Identification Number (NIN), has enrolled over 110 million Nigerians.
“The Student Loan Initiative showcases how DPI can eliminate financial barriers to education.
“By collaborating with 257 institutions, 332,715 students have been registered for loans, and over 18,000 students have already received payments through the initiative,” she said.