NIN: Nigeria signs $13m deal with South Korea

Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has signed a new deal agreement worth over N5 billion ($13 million) with The Republic of Korea. 

The contract was signed by South Korea on Thursday through its grant aid agency, Korea International Cooperation Agency Office (KOICA) in Nigeria. 

According to a press statement signed after the deal, the agreement seeks to boost the e-government enlargement and proliferation access in the enrollment of the National Identification Number (NIN). 

The KOICA Office in Nigeria in a statement explained that the new agreement will help the implementation of the ‘Project for Building Foundations Towards Digital Governance in Nigeria from 2020 to 2026’. 

The statement read, “The project, which is fully funded by the Korean government through grant aid, is expected to enhance capacity for the further execution of key initiatives of the National eGovernment Master Plan, improve competencies for e-government service delivery through capacity building programmes, expand the delivery of government digital services through the activation of the government service portal, www.services.gov.ng, and create increased access for NIN enrolment through the establishment of additional NIN enrolment centres.” 

Speaking during the event, Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy noted that KOICA’s aid disbursement for e-government remained the highest in Nigeria. 

The Nigerian Government in July extended the deadline for NIN linkage to SIM data to October 31, 2021, but a large number of Nigerians, especially from the Southern part have vowed not to link their SIM with NIN.