…to produce a million cards in the first phase, gather data to drive sustainable growth.
By John Ewah
The Edo State Residency Card Project has been on the front burner since its official launch in the just-concluded 2022 Edo State Summit.
The Residency Card which has been designed to enable the State account properly for all residents would also enable the State Government consolidate on its all-encompassing growth and Master Plan for the State, as part of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s MEGA vision of making Edo the best State to live and prosper in by the year 2050.
Apart from being a viable and effective security check, the Card would also function as an interactive criterion with government services in Edo.
The Residency Card is linked to the national identity card under the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) scheme. Like in most countries, a localized algorithm is being developed for registration and issuance, in order to provide residents in the State with a single form of identity.
Governor Obaseki had earlier noted that no child in Edo would be accepted in schools in the State if their parents are not known, as all residents in the State would be registered. He had also maintained that without the identification number, residents will not be able to get land, Certificate of Occupancy or access the Edo State Health Insurance Scheme, amongst other services.
In a recent internal stakeholders’ summit held in Benin City, the Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Esq. expressed optimism about the objectives the Residency Card is set to achieve.
According to Okungbowa, “This project will enable us as a State to plan. You know without data you are not going to be able to plan for the people of the State and plan effectively. What we have done in the past was to plan but haphazardly; you know, plans that you weren’t sure of because you were not having enough data to get to know who the people you are planning for are.
“Today we have people from the local government because eventually, we are not going to do this forever. We are not going to be moving from place to place to register people forever. We are going to domesticate it within the local government so that after this initial phase, we can keep it going.
“The Governor has told us that before this administration exits, he wants to ensure that at least one million cards are produced in the first phase. Everybody in the State would eventually be registered. You can register and not have the card immediately; what is important is that you have that number; the Edo State Residency Number to identify you”.
Also speaking at the summit, the Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Strategy, Policy, Projects and Performance Management, Sarah Esangbedo Ajose-Adeogun, explained that the Residency Card project would enable the State Government, among other things, identify the vulnerable in the State, in order to develop relevant social investment programs.
Ajose-Adeogun said; “The Edo State Residency Card enables us to identify who our residents are in Edo State, it enables us identify who our vulnerable people are and it enables us govern with appropriate data, to be able to meet our vision of making Edo the best place to live and prosper in by the year 2050.
“Identifying the vulnerable people gives us the opportunity to be able to develop relevant social investment programs that will be of benefit to our people. It enables us to have data that will drive historical benefits, ensuring that what the government is doing is designed to address and impact a wider network of people rather than just going to a few people. This project enables us to have the required data to be able to plan effectively and execute those plans appropriately”.
The Edo State Commissioner for Public Security and Safety, Omololu Ojeomo, while speaking on the benefit of the residency card to the State’s security system, emphasized that the residency card would help the State account easily for its demography and aids the State in terms of security planning.
Ojehomo said; “The residency card is really going to help us know and understand the population and our demographic spread in the State. It would help us with the new Master Plan, to make sure that we have the right things in place when it comes to security, the equipment we need and related matters. But most importantly, it is the people in the State that are of more concern to us; knowing who they are and being able to organize or plan for them has made this residency card a vital project.”
Speaking on the security protocol for data, the Managing Director of the Edo State Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), Mr Goodluck Igbinedion, assured residents in the State of data security and protection, as the State has put measures in place to secure residents’ information.
According to Igbinedion, “Data is everything and that is where ICT comes in. We want to have a data repository for all citizens and residents in Edo State to aid the government in planning. So as ICT, our role is to ensure that the protocol used in capturing people’s data is secure and that is why we are linking this residency ID card to the NIMC standard”.
