Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, has revealed plans by the Federal Government to replace the Bank Verification Number (BVN) with the National Identity Number (NIN).
He stated that his Ministry is collaborating with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure citizens with BVNs are automatically provided with NINs.
Pantami made this disclosure when he led a delegation of chief executive officers on a visit to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and a private enrolling centre in Abuja.
The Minister stated he had made a presentation to the National Economic Sustainability Committee and drew the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor on the need to replace BVN with NIN.
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The Minister, however, pointed out that the challenge is that the BVN records may not be 100% the same as the NIN, but what is most important is that the NIN is the primary identity of every legal resident in the country.
According to him, the BVN is a regulator’s policy, while NIN is a law.
He said, “The strength of the law wherever you go is not the same with a policy of one institution.’’
“BVN is our secondary database, while NIN and the database is the primary one in the country that each and every institution should make reference to NIMC,” he said.
