Come and answer questions on ID card registration- Parliamentary Minority to NIA

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, is pushing for the authorities of the National Identification Authority to be hauled before Parliament to give a report on the national ID registration.

Contributing to the business statement for this week, Mr. Iddrisu said many Ghanaians are frustrated because the registration has become cumbersome. He said the registration is very important because Citizens need the ID Cards for the ongoing SIM re-registration.

The Majority leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the concerns raised by the Minority Leader had nothing to do with the business statement.

However, if the concerns are genuine NIA Officials and the responsible sector Minister could be asked to come and update the House.

The leader cited his case where he has not been able to get his National ID Card after registering almost two years ago.

There were disagreements on whether or not the National Identification Authority supports the SIM re-registration. The Minority Leader had earlier quoted the Chief Executive of the NIA, Professor Ken Attefuah describing the exercise as useless.

However, Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, refuted the claims. According to him, Prof. Attefuah was misrepresented in the media and he has since come to clear the air, expressing his full support for the exercise.

MP for Tamale North, Alhassan Suyuhini, however insisted that per the official letter written by the ”NIA Boss, the exercise was both technically and legally defective”.

This forced the Minister for Communication and Digitalization, Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful to also come in. According to her, ”the NIA cannot claim any authority or monopoly over SIM registration”.