NIGERIA: Govt Moves To Boost Digital Financial Services

 Justus Adejumoh

The federal government has expressed its commitment to bring affordable digital financial services closer to Nigerians who are unbanked .

The Senior Special Adviser to the President on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), Mr. Lanre Osibona, disclosed this in his keynote address at the Fintech Week in Lagos.

He explained that the digital financial services are critical to building a robust digital economy, adding that government was determined to use it to make financial services affordable to all and sundry in the country.

He added that part of the efforts by the government to embark on the digital financial services was the rollout of digital identity to register all Nigerians and legal residents with a digital identity – the National Identity Number (NIN).

Osibona said: “For those who have registered, they can verify their NIN by typing *346# from their registered phone number. We have inherited the record of five million registered Nigerians when we assumed office and we have grown the number to over 37 million registered Nigerians.”

He also disclosed that the government has put in place a number of initiatives that included Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval of the Strategic Roadmap for Harmonisation of all silo identity agencies developed Data Protection and Privacy Bill to ensure trust between the government and citizens.

SOURCE:THE INDEPENDENT