•Lawmakers urge FG to curb reoccurring train mishaps
•Urge FERMA to rehabilitate Jos, Bauchi roads
Udora Orizu in Abuja
The House of Representatives at plenary yesterday, passed through second reading a bill seeking for an act to make mandatory the use of the National Identity Number (NIN) in the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by all mobile telecommunication network operators with the Identity Management Commission.
The proposed legislation tilted, “Bill for an Act to Amend the National Identity Management Commission; and for Related Matters (HB. 1447),” was sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun, (PDP, Edo).
Leading the debate on its general principles, Ogun noted that though the Executive had already started the process of getting all users of mobiles phones to link their SIM cards to their NIN, this bill was necessary, so as to give legislative backing to the step taken by the Executive.
According to him, the bill was the legislative contribution to the ongoing fight against the increasing cases of criminality in the country orchestrated by bandits, terrorists, internet fraudsters and armed robbers, who take advantage of easy access to telecom networks.
By amending the NIMC Act to include registration of SIM cards with every subscriber’s NIN, the lawmaker said it becomes easy to uncover the identity behind various criminal activities being carried out in the society.
He said, “National identity management system is critical to the development of any economy. It provides a universal identification infrastructure for a country to access and confirm the identities of individuals residing in its territory for the purpose of economic planning, intelligence gathering and social development.
“All these will be difficult to achieve in the absence of a robust national identity management system. In recognition of the foregoing, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) was established in 2007, to create, manage, maintain and operate a unified National Identity Database for Nigeria.
“It is against this background that this bill is proposed, to include in the Act, a new paragraph requiring the use of National Identity Number in the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards by all mobile telecommunication network operators with the Identity Management Commission.”
The Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, set up a team to interface with their counterparts in the Senate to harmonise differences in the insurance bill recently passed by both chambers.
Members of the harmonisation team included Hon. Darlington Nwokocha (Chairman), Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Hon. Wole Oke and others as members.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged the federal government through the Nigerian Railway Corporation to provide measures to curb incessant loss of lives and properties through train mishaps.
The lawmakers mandated the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau to investigate the causes of the various train incidences.
The resolutions of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Idem Unyime at the plenary yesterday.
Moving the motion, Unyime recalled that in January 2023, a train accident was reported in the Kubwa axis of Abuja, which claimed the life of Selimota Suleiman, a staff of the Nigerian Television Authority.
He also recalled that on Thursday, March 9, 2023, a moving train rammed into a BRT bus in Lagos State, claiming about six lives and many others injured.
He lamented that in spite of the unfortunate trends, which were as a result of the carelessness of some individuals, no one has ever been held to account for the unfortunate loss of lives.
The lawmaker opined that the unfortunate incidents were occurring very often because not much seems to be done to forestall the occurrence.
Adopting the motion, the House while observing a minute silence in honour of the casualties of the various train mishaps, mandated its relevant Committees to ensure compliance and report back in three weeks for further legislative action.
Also at the plenary, the lawmakers adopting a motion sponsored by Hon. Muhammad Alkali, urged the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA to urgently rehabilitate the Jos-Bauchi road and enlighten commercial and heavy trucks drivers to ensure safety-drive and vehicle maintenance
