Sanwo-Olu relaunches Lagos Residency Card in five locations
…State targets 10m residents for enrollment before December
…‘Registration is free, card useful for 28 services’ – LASRRA boss
BENJAMIN OMOIKE
Lagos State Government has launched an upgraded and chip-embedded smart residency card by the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), on Wednesday.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu personally unveiled the smart residency card at launching events held simultaneously across five locations in the state. The locations include Ikeja, Lagos Island, Badagry, Ikorodu and Epe. The relaunch event had relevant stakeholders from government agencies and private sector players present to discuss the significance of the card’s evolution and its possibilities for residents of Lagos State.
The new card offers a transition from an ordinary plastic card, meant only for identification purposes, to a smart, multi-purpose ID that combines biometric identification with other benefits, such as security, financial services, transportation and access to government services and amenities.
Lagos started enrollment of its residents for residency registration in 2011 to create a reliable database to enable effective and realistic planning by the State Government, especially for the provision of social services and amenities.
Already, 6.5 million residents had been enrolled on the database by LASRRA, with the State witnessing four-fold increment in registration in the last three years.
With the launch of digitised card format, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government would be targeting to capture 10 million residents on the database before the end of the year.
This new residency ID, according to LASRRA, is a multipurpose smart card with 28 applets that make the provision of 28 services possible to the cardholders.
In his address, the Governor noted that the card is important for proper identification and traceability of Lagos residents, which ultimately will help inform the Government’s planning and provision of social services, improve the security of lives and properties within the state and drive the upward mobility of residents. His words echoed those of the General Manager of LASRRA, Engr. Mrs. Ibilola Kasumu, who said that the card would aid economic growth and provide a reliable database of all residents of the state.
The Governor said: “Today’s relaunch is borne out of the need to embrace change and align with global best practices. We have upgraded the residency card from an ordinary plastic card, for identification purposes only, to a smart, multi-purpose card that combines biometric identification with other functionalities and benefits, that cuts across areas such as security, financial services, mobility and access to government services and amenities.
“Lagos experiences significant levels of daily inbound migration of people seeking economic opportunities and a better life. As a result, our population is rising rapidly, with obvious implications for social services, social infrastructure, and for security. It has become imperative for the State Government to re-examine strategies aimed at improving the security of lives and properties of the people.
“This smart residency card being launched today will help us to address the issues surrounding the identification and traceability of Lagos residents, and ultimately help inform the Government’s planning and provision of services designed to secure lives and property. The card comes with an electronic wallet, which can hold funds and be used for daily transactions to support the cashless agenda of the monetary authorities.”
Sanwo-Olu said new visitors in Lagos who planned to live in the State for more than two consecutive months were now required to register for the residency card.
Africa’s leading payment cards and digital tokens brand, Verve, partnered the Lagos State Government on the relaunch of the LASRRA identity card.
This laudable initiative serves to transform the lives of Lagos residents by aligning with global best practices to upgrade the LASRRA card from an ordinary plastic card meant for only identification purposes to a smart card which avails residents with the dual functions of an identity card and a payment card, leveraging the robust infrastructure of Africa’s largest domestic card scheme Verve, to receive money or payments from different sources; family, friends, business, customer or welfare from the government and also use the card across a host of payment channels such as the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), Point of Sale (POS) terminals, offline and online payment agents, among others.
Holders of the new LASSRRA smart card, also called LAG ID, will be able to access an array of benefits that come with being a Verve cardholder. Verve offers extensive and exciting rewards, as well as loyalty programs which are open to all LAG ID cardholders.
Speaking on the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Verve International, Vincent Ogbunude, noted that the LAG ID card, a first of its kind in the country, will provide its holders a life of convenience, enabling residents to make transactions anywhere and at any time, while also enjoying the dual benefit of verifying their identities and be able to readily access the various social amenities provided by the government.
Ogbunude said, “It is exciting to be in partnership with the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA). This partnership stems from the alignment of our vision to create a transformative society using technology.”
This partnership is in furtherance of Verve’s goal to create a digitized identification system for Nigerians, as it recently partnered with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to create a digitization framework for proper identity management for Nigerians.
The Governor said Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would be leveraging the database to validate residents for the purpose of delivering essential services, including health insurance, pension administration, school allocation based on residential addresses, and other necessary social amenities.
Sanwo-Olu solicited for the cooperation of all residents to register and acquire the card in order to enjoy the benefits on offer, and to enable the Government to plan effectively and allocate budget for the delivery of good governance against the backdrop of the State’s growing population.
“The political will and commitment of this administration to ensure that we are delivering on our mandate effectively and efficiently has led to heavy and ongoing investment in Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure on multiple fronts,” the Governor said.
The high point of the event was the symbolic presentation of the smart residency cards to the Governor and residents freshly registered by LASRRA.
Other dignitaries present at the event were the Deputy Governor, Femi Hamzat; Managing Director, Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman; General Manager, LASRRA, Ibilola Kasunmu; Managing Director, LAMATA, Abimbola Akinbajo, Commissioner of Information, Gbenga Omotosho, among others.
