1m residents get Kaduna residency card

Kaduna state Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has disclosed that one million residents of the state have so far obtained the Residency Card introduced by the state government.

Speaking during the official flag-off of the state residency card programme at Miyetti Allah Primary Health Centre,  Rigasa, Igabi local government area, the governor explained that the decision to introduce the card was to help the state government in planning for its social programmes in future.

According to El-Rufai, previous Kaduna governments have over the years failed to use accurate data in planning for the state, which he said has led to guess work and inaccurate data.

“The overcrowded school in Rigasa made national headlines after we revealed its existence. But how did one primary school in Rigasa come about having more than 20,000 pupils?” he queried.

The governor explained that while the National Identity Card is to identify who is true Nigerian, the Kaduna residency card is to help the state government know who is residing in the state. He disclosed that there are 58 registration centres across the state established for the exercise.

“Three Mobile Enrolment Buses are also shuttling within Kaduna metropolis, bringing the registration process to the elderly and persons living with physical disabilities. The ultimate goal is to ensure ease of access by scaling up the registration centres to 255 with one in each ward of our 23 local governments.

“Residents of Kaduna state should note that in the near future, no citizen will enjoy some of our free or subsidized social services like basic education, healthcare or even be considered for land allocation unless he or she can provide a Kaduna State Residents Card.”

To this end, he called on religious leaders and traditional rulers to help in sensitising their people over the importance of obtaining the residency card.

The Director General, National Identity Management Commission, Alhaji Aliyu Azeez, remarked that NIMC had captured 30.6 million Nigerians in its data base, saying Kaduna alone had 1.6 million people captured in their data base.

Enumerating the importance of identity data for national development, the DG said that it could be used for security planning and poverty eradication, adding that at personal level it could be used to obtain international passport, bank account among others.

Azeez assured Nigerians that the resolve of his agency is to capture every Nigerian in the next three years.

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