By Editorial Staff 
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has launched the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) national biometric identity card (ENBIC) nine years after Senegal adopted it.
Recall that Senegal became the first country to issue the card in 2016, after the regional body adopted it in 2014 to replace ECOWAS’ handwritten travel certificate.
ENBIC is part of efforts to enhance cross-border security and regional integration, and to improve identity management.
During the launch of the card in Abuja on Friday, the minister said that it marks “a powerful new beginning” for secure mobility and regional integration.
Some of the features of the biometric card include an electronic chip that stores biometric and biographical data to enable secure identity verification, reduce fraud, and make intra-region travel easier.
Seven of the 15 member countries have now fully deployed the card. They include Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Benin, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone, with Nigeria being the latest country to adopt it.
The minister was quoted as saying, “It is unlike the Nigerian standard. That is very unusual, but the good news is that President Tinubu came in, insisted on delivery, and today the promise has become a reality.”
Tunji-Ojo stated that the biometric card would be the foundation of a new security and identity ecosystem that will transform intelligence gathering and border control.
According to him, the ENBIC card would help tackle irregular migration across the region while stating that Nigeria’s government is exploring a regional migration database in collaboration with ECOWAS states, similar to the Schengen system, to further strengthen cross-border security.