Isa Pantami said that although kidnappers and terrorists are still negotiating ransoms over the phone, significant gains have been made since SIM cards began to be linked to the national indentation number, or NIN.
The Minister Isa Pantami, who made the statement in Umuahia, Abia State, during World National Identity Day celebrations, said the number of scam calls to unsuspecting phone users has decreased significantly since the start of the year.
He said people should not expect innovation to eliminate evil overnight, saying it is a gradual process.
His words: “The problem of kidnapping calls has actually diminished in terms of ransom by phone. Renovating the existing system cannot be done overnight. It is an ongoing process.
Those 419 calls that we normally get most of the time have actually gone down as most numbers are now added to the NIN.
“It will still take some time before the whole system is completely renovated. But so far, a huge impact has been made. “For the first time, at least, most people are afraid to do certain things with their phone numbers-to make malicious calls.”
Professor Pantami, represented by the Director of Research and Development at the National Information Technology Development Agency, Dr. Collins Agu, regretted that the public outcry over the blocking of unregistered SIM cards had slowed efforts to clean the telecommunications system. “Remember, when the minister came and blocked many numbers, there was an outcry from telecoms, and he relaxed a bit for humanitarian reasons.”
It also slows down the whole process, because if he had taken the hard line, more would have criticized him. It is a gradual process, but progress has been made.
The minister said he has brought many innovations to the country’s information technology and ICT sectors.
“When Professor Pantami came on board, NIMC (National Identity Management Commission) registrations tripled. For the first time in Nigeria’s history, ICT contributed 18.7% to our gross domestic product (GDP).
He further explained why he removed NIMC from the position of Secretary to the Federation Government, SGF, saying it was to increase his productivity. He was able to get NIMC out of the SGF office because you can’t have a digital economy without a solid identification system. ID creates trust, traceability, and transparency. ”
He praised the state of Abia for responding to the NIMC ecosystem and pledged federal government assistance to the state in achieving the goals of the digital economy.
Abia took the lead in adopting the NIMC ecosystem, so it even set up a special NIMC affairs unit. Abia has a strong business at NIMC. Opening her remarks, the Governor’s Special Advisor on NIMC, Digital Economy, Ecosystems, and other related issues, Princess Chidinma-Apugo Osoagbaka said that Abia has seen tremendous progress in the NIMC ecosystem.
According to her, Abia is the first state to establish the office of a special adviser on the NIMC, digital economy, and ecosystem.
Noting that the global economy is being driven by the power of digitalization, she affirmed her office’s readiness to realize the government’s intention towards a digital economy.
Princess Osoagbaka announced that over 80 million Nigerians are on the ongoing NIN registry.
She said her goal was to enroll all Abians in the NIMC before the end of the Ikpeazu administration and urged those Abians who had not enrolled to do so immediately. In his remarks, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, represented by his deputy, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, said the benefits of NIN registration were enormous and urged Abians to register.