Foreigners may soon be directed to register for NIN as FG seeks to amend NIMC law

Foreigners in Nigeria may soon be compelled to register for the National Identity Number (NIN) as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) proposed an amendment to the National Identity Management Commission Act №23, 2007.

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, made this known while briefing the State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.

Onanuga said the law that set up the NIMC initially precludes foreigners from being issued NIN.

According to him, if the bill scales through at the National Assembly, every expatriate in the country would be given identification numbers.

“If the National Assembly passes that bill, it provides that everybody living in Nigeria, including foreigners, will now be registered and given NIN.

“Once you are doing some work here and earning income, you will be registered and given an NIN so that you can be taxed.

“Your NIN will give you your tax identity, and you can also be taxed and come under our tax structure. The law that set up the NIMC initially precludes foreigners from being registered,” the presidential spokesperson said.

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Other laws to be amended

Onanuga also announced another bill seeking to amend the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act №17, 2007.

He said the bill aims to “provide for the payment of fees and other charges in naira to improve the ease of doing business and for related matters.”

Section 15 of the law is to be amended with a new subsection mandating agencies under the Act to collect fees, charges, levies, and fines in naira.

“Hitherto, these agencies were charging in dollars, but now they can always collect it in naira. This government wants to put a lot of emphasis on our national currency instead of everything being dollarised in our economy,” he stressed.

Onanuga said President Bola Tinubu's government is making efforts to ensure business transactions are done in naira, saying “Everything doesn’t have to be in dollars.”