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.
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