By Nora Agbakhamen
The Lagos State Government has concluded plans to roll out its New Identity Card, “LAG ID” for residents of the State.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Yinka Fashola, at an Internal Stakeholders Workshop held on Saturday, in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
In an address, Ms. Fashola said “the Lagos State Government is committed to ensuring the successful rollout of the card”, and further encouraged “all enrolment officers to be proactive and show commitment to achieving the registration of 100 residents per day”.
The Permanent Secretary also expressed confidence that the target of registering 10 million residents before the end of 2021 would be achieved.
Earlier, General Manager, Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), Engr. Ibilola Kasunmu enjoined staff and other stakeholders to be good advocates of the ‘New’ Lagos Identity Card when it is finally unveiled.
Mrs. Kasunmu, who said that the workshop was held to explain details of the project, revealed that “the major difference between the card issued previously and the new one to be unveiled is that the latter is a multipurpose Smart Card that meets International Best Practices and will serve as a valid means of identification.
“The card comes with a chip. Security is one of the features of the LAG ID Card 2.0 amongst others. The chip has multipurpose uses and can be accepted anywhere in the world. Also, you don’t need to carry the multipurpose card around because the chip houses the information to be used by the card. It has contactless capacities”, she said.
Relating that the new initiative aligns with the Smart City Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu ‘s administration, Kasunmu said that the concept is the first of its kind in West Africa and was quick to state that the “Unique LAG ID” is to replace the former LASRRA Number.
“The card has a validity period because it is a bank card and is renewable every five years. It has other 25 generic features which were embedded to ensure inclusive participation by all our Ministries, Departments and Agencies. These generic applications will be customised to suit different MDAs depending on their needs,” she said.
The General Manager also pointed out that the Validation Portal has gone live and described the Android Application solution, which will make registration seamless and accessible through smartphones, as work in progress.
The Head of Registration at LASRRA, Mr. Ajibola Abari, took participants through the registration plan and process, pre-enrolment process, requirements for registration, various registration centres in Lagos State and the card pick-up points.
Other issues discussed at the workshop include the card issuance process, the Veto Company that will be in charge of the card and the PR communication approach. Phase I of the process dwells on the integrity of the card, Phase II outlines how to engender stakeholders’ support and understanding and Phase III lists the benefits of registration by the public. Discussions also covered meeting with stakeholders from time to time, proactive reputation building, framework for the media plan presentation and others.
