The Lagos State Government has launched a smart digital ID card in one area of its capacities to fully digitalise the private and public sectors and facilitate digital identities for citizens.

Through the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency, the Government will introduce an improved Lagos State Resident Identity Card that comes into use from 20 July 2022 across five areas of the state – Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, and Epe.

According to the World bank, over 1.1 billion people globally who have no formal identification such as a national identity card, passport or driving license and around 50% of this number live in remote parts of Africa, in turn meaning that many also lack the credentials to open a bank account, have secure banking and access government or healthcare services.

The new smart ID card available in the Lagos State, in SouthWestern Nigeria, ensures citizens there do have access a ‘multi-application smartcard that offers registered residents access to services ranging from a means of personal security and identity verification at points of accessing various government services, to applying for loans from Lagos State Employment Trust Fund’.

The card holds secure personal and biometric data of the individual in a multi-applet chip module for real-time identity authentication and verification.

Residents in the state can register online but will need to visit an LASRRA Registration Centre in-person to verify and confirm their identities with biometrics to match the information they submit online.