By AbdulRaheem Aodu Kaduna
Kaduna state government yesterday launched its social security/residency card, urging all residents of the state to register for effective provision of social services to the people and to address insecurity. The Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Malam Muhammad Abdullahi, told journalists shortly after he registered at the North West Zonal Office of the National Identity Card Management Commission (NIMC) in Kaduna, that the “initiative will tackle security challenges as residents will be captured on national data base.” He said: “To achieve the desired impact, we need to know who and who resides in our state and where.
When you know the number of people residing in your state and where they are, you will be able to provide better services. “Kaduna state is open for everyone due to its strategic location, geographically, economically and politically. But if you are going to stay in the state beyond 180 days, you would be required to register and obtain our residency card. This is very important not only in planning, but also in ensuring security because most of the security issues we are having in the state are cause by people from other states.” NIMC North West Zonal Director, Mr. Oyesola Taiwo, said registration for the Kaduna state residency card was linked with the NIMC data base. Taiwo added: “For those who have their national identification number, all they need do is present their number and they would be captured. “If you do not have, you would have to register for the national identification number before you would be captured for the state residency card.” The House of Assembly committee chairman on Budget and Planning, Alhaji Idris Abdullahi, said the exercise had a legal backing and was appropriated for in the 2017 budget.
