www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/national-id-partnership-mastercard-wont-compromise-national-database/

Director General/Chief Executive Officer of National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Chris Onyemenam has said that the partnership with the American payment processor, MasterCard on the national electronic identity card will not in any way jeopardise the security of the national identity database.

He stated this when he paid a visit to the corporate head office of the Vanguard Media in Lagos as part of efforts to clear the air on the speculations that the partnership with MasterCard may facilitate undue access to the national database by foreign
governments.
He said the national identity database is not open to inspection by any party, home or abroad and that there is no provision for any foreign government or entity to access the database.

Onyemenam said, “MasterCard is providing functionality for one of the five applets, just as you have with your ATM cards.
No one complains that your name is on the ATM card, or that that information may be held in America. The concern here is biometric data and other demographic information such as next of
kin and son. MasterCard does not have and will never have access to such information.”
“Any suggestion that MasterCard, Visa or any other foreign body will gain access to the database is pure fiction not
backed up with evidence,” he added.

He however noted that in the unlikely event that Nigeria has problems with the US government similar to the issue with Russia; the only part of the entire Card that can cease to function is the payment applet.
Explaining further, he said, “NIMC is the custodian of the National Identity Database and we would be contravening so many national security laws if we ever did so.
The Department of State Security has scrutinised NIMC and can attest that the commission has put all kinds of processes and security measures in place to avoid such breaches of national security. NIMC has also passed ISO 27001.
“It has even gone as far as implementing its own PKI infrastructure which means that digital certificates and keys issued for each individual are not sent offshore for signing, but are signed internally at NIMC headquarters as Nigeria has its
own Registration Authority, RA and Country Signing certificate Authority as well as a host of other PKI systems thereby negating the need to depend on a foreign government to sign our certificates.
Nigeria has its own OID and we had to apply through the Standard Organisation of Nigeria and International Telecommunications Union, which means that Nigeria’s RA is
recognised by ICAO worldwide, making our Card globally-acceptable identity card which conforms to international standards.”

9ja data already full everywhere

FRSC, INEC, telecom companies, etc

what so unique abt mastercard?