The Federal Government has launched a mobile documentation initiative aimed at helping 3.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable Nigerians access essential government services.
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The programme, tagged One Motor, Plenty Services, will use 10 specially equipped mobile centres to take identity registration, financial inclusion and social protection services closer to communities facing displacement and other barriers.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, disclosed this on Wednesday during the handover of the vehicles to beneficiary states at the United Nations House in Abuja.
The minister said the initiative was designed to address difficulties vulnerable people face in obtaining official documents because of distance, displacement and limited access to registration centres.
Services to be provided through the mobile centres include the National Identification Number (NIN), birth certificates, Bank Verification Number (BVN), Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration, bank account opening and enrolment in the National Social Register.
Doro said the lack of identity documents often prevents displaced persons from accessing government assistance and economic opportunities.
He explained that identification was an important step towards ensuring vulnerable people could be recognised, counted and connected to public support.
According to him, the initiative is part of the government’s effort to move affected communities beyond emergency relief and towards sustainable poverty reduction.
The minister urged the beneficiary state governments to keep the vehicles operational and ensure they regularly reach displaced communities and other underserved locations.
He warned that the mobile centres must not be left unused in government facilities, stressing that they should be fuelled, maintained, secured and deployed to the people they are meant to serve.
Doro also expressed hope that the programme would be extended beyond the initial 10 states to cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The initiative is supported by the German government through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and participating state governments.
States selected for the first phase
The 10 beneficiary states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Katsina, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
