By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is seeking a partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to decentralise its online registration process, enabling prospective corps members to register from anywhere in the world.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, disclosed this during a visit to the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, in Abuja.
Nafiu said the proposed collaboration would eliminate the difficulties associated with the current registration process, which requires foreign-trained graduates to travel to Nigeria for registration, while other prospective corps members often spend long hours at designated cybercafés to complete the exercise.
He explained that the Scheme planned to develop an application that would allow prospective corps members to register using their personal devices, regardless of their location.
According to him, biometric capturing remains a major challenge to achieving the initiative, hence the need for NIMC’s support in providing access to reliable biometric data through its database.
The NYSC boss described NIMC as a leading institution in identity and data management, expressing confidence that its collaboration with the Scheme would strengthen identity verification and improve the registration process.
He commended the Commission for its efforts to ensure that Nigerians are registered and have verifiable identities, while offering NYSC’s support towards achieving the objective.
Nafiu expressed optimism that the next online registration exercise would be conducted seamlessly, allowing prospective corps members to complete the process from the comfort of their homes.
He added that the partnership would also provide reliable identity data for effective planning and national development.
Responding, Coker-Odusote pledged NIMC’s support for the initiative, assuring that the Commission would work with NYSC to ensure eligible Nigerian youths access registration services in a convenient digital environment.
She disclosed that holders of the National Identification Number (NIN) who download the NINAuth application would be able to complete their registration processes from home.
The NIMC chief executive further explained that the digital identity platform would support registration for examinations and other services, including WAEC, JAMB, NECO, NYSC and international travel.
She commended Nafiu for his initiatives and leadership, assuring him of the Commission’s commitment to sustaining a productive working relationship with the Scheme.
