How to apply for Nigerian National Identity Card:It is good to know how to apply for Nigerian national ID Card, because though the process is being simplified by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), it is still difficult to be accessed by many Nigerians, especially those at the rural areas and those that work for five to seven days a week and from 8 am in the morning to 5 pm in the evening.
Also, while getting to know how to apply for the national ID Card, it is expedient to know the very multiple reasons why you must apply for the Nigerian national ID Card and get your national Identity or identification number (NIN) even before getting the Nigerian national identity card itself as the processing of the card takes time as it incorporates many details, if not all the details of the owner and so takes up to two to three years and even more to process.
Why You Need Your Nigerian National Identity Card
There are very many reasons why you need your Nigerian National Identity Card. Amongst others, their basic ones are;
- Without your National Identification Number (NIN) you cannot open a bank account.
- As currently enforced, without the NIN, all accounts that have not been verified cannot be verified and so, you cannot get your Bank Verification Number (BVN) with your National Identification Number.
- Also, the National Assembly has passed into law, the bill seeking to unify all details of every Nigerian into the National Identification Number, NIN meaning that every employed citizen in the country must have this number to be able to get his or her monthly salary and so on. The law that had been signed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mohammadu Buhari has it that with effect from 1st of June, 2019, every member of the workforce must have their National Identification Number to be able to carry out any function within the system.
- With this, no application for a job, VISA or anything can be done without you first of all having your National Identification Number.
- You cannot benefit from any government loan, grant and other schemes and you cannot be a signatory to anyone without your NIN.
How to Apply and Get the Nigerian National Identity Card
To apply and get your card (your NIN slip first), you are to strictly follow this procedure listed below. They are;
- Locate the closest registration point close to you, these registration points are located at the local government council area headquarters of every local government area in Nigeria (except areas highly threatened with insecurity). Also, if you are the capital city of your state, visit the Federal or State Secretariat and ask for the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) office. Also, check local listings for registration points in your locality, because for ease of registration, the National Identity Management Commission has opened up registration points in various places within major cities across the country.
- Visit them for registration with the following documents;
- Birth Certificate or Statutory Declaration of Age.
- Certificate of Origin.
- Recent Passport Photograph that will be scanned and also you will be captured.
- Letter of Recommendation or Attestation.
- At the office or place of registration, you will be given a form to fill in your details, do this, giving as best as possible your current details, because when captured, this details can’t be easily corrected or changed.
- Submit the filled in details to be captured and present yourself for capturing.
- Wait and take your enrolment slip, which you will need to bring to get your National Identification Number (NIN) slip.
- Call back after a week for your National Identification Number (NIN) which will be given to you a week after your enrolment at the place of enrolment or registration.
Note; this process takes time in major cities because of the large crowd, to avoid this, you may consider doing your enrolment in less congested areas or points that suits your time.
Don’t wait again, get registered today.