The Nigeria Content Advocacy Initiative (NiCADI), a multi-sector vehicle for the domestication of Nigeria information technology (IT) products and services has called on the Federal Government to quickly cancel the award of the processing and branding of national identity cards to MasterCard International, an American company as it negates the spirit of local content development, national security and constitutes policy summersault.
DigitalSENSE Business News
recalls that in the company of Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister
for the Economy in Nigeria, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, MasterCard on Wednesday at
the just concluded World Economic Forum on Africa, proclaimed that it will
roll-out 13 million MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards for
Nigerians, under the recently deployed National Identity Management System (NIMS)
managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
NiCADI which
has been in the vanguard of entrenching the culture of building indigenous ICT
companies that can compete on the global turf said the contract terms in which
MasterCard will pick the huge contract monies and will rely on Nigerian
companies which have all the wherewithal to implement the project as
sub-contractors does not bode well for Nigeria’s march to become a major force
in the emerging global political economy.
Responding to the
news, chairman, Business and TechnologyNews Publishers Foundation (BTPF),
promoters of NiCADI, Mr. Ken Ugbechie expresses happiness that high-level
competencies for processing and issuance of payment cards resides in eTranzact
Limited, 3Line Nigeria Limited and Interswitch Limited in Nigeria, arguing that
it’s inconceivable that such business should be given to an American company
whose primary interest is to buffer American economy.
“We also know that
all MasterCard payments processing in Nigeria are being handled competently by
Interswitch, Card Technology Limited and Unified Payments Limited. Today, over
70 per cent of bank customers in Nigeria use Verve payments cards from
Interswitch, Genesis Payment cards from eTranzact and Freedom Card from 3 Line
Card Management Limited for their day-to-day payment transactions.
“What then is the
rationale for giving the payments transactions of our National ID to
MasterCard, a foreign company? We have on good authority that the combined
workforce of the three Nigerian firms with competencies in payment cards system
runs into over 300 high-skilled staff, whereas MasterCard can only boast of a
handful of Nigerians working as marketing executives for the company,” the BTPF
chairman said.
Ugbechie maintained
that his group was convinced that this deal would further accentuate the
unemployment problems in Nigeria.
 |
| ken ugbechie, chairman, BTPF |
“The questions
Nigerians should ask NIMC is can the United States of America award this kind
of business to a Nigerian firm? Your answer is as good as ours. No country
protects her interest more than United States of America. It is on record that
US had stopped awarding businesses to several Chinese firms, citing national
security issues.
“Don’t we have
national security to protect in Nigeria? Must we always behave like poor
cousins of developed world? We also had it on good authority that MasterCard
whose CEO is from India approached Unique Identifications Authority of India
(UIAI) of India for similar project and its bid was turned down because
of national security,” Ugbechie submitted.
According to a
statement issued by MasterCard, it will rely on Unified Payments Services
Limited (formerly Valucard), as the payment processor with Access Bank Plc as
the pilot issuer bank for the cards while other issuing banks will include
United Bank for Africa, Union Bank, Zenith, Skye Bank, Unity Bank, Stanbic and
First Bank.
Remmy Nweke/DigitalSENSE Business News
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