*Lists benefits of Kaduna Residents Card

By Ibrahim HassanWuyo

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state has said that his government recognises citizenship as what the Nigerian constitution advocates rather than ‘indigenship’ and ‘settlership.’

El Rufai spoke at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kaduna State Residents Registration Agency and United Bank for Africa(UBA) on Friday.

He said that the dichotomy between indigenes and settlers has brought untold problems to the country and has slowed down the unity of our great nation.

According to him, the Kaduna State Residents Card helps the government to know citizens, better organise their access to social services like education, basic health care and social interventions as well as conduct business with the government without hindrance.

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The governor also said that the resident’s card ‘“not only identifies someone as a resident alone; it enables you to use it as a bank card. You can use it as a debit card, as a credit card depending on the type of arrangement you have with UBA.”

He said the card ‘’also enhances financial inclusion because its possession immediately gives you the opportunity to have a bank account if you didn’t have one and have a bank verification number.”

The Governor revealed that the Agency has already registered more than 3.4 million residents of Kaduna state out of a total population of about 10 million.

‘’Kaduna State Government will soon demand the production of this residents card for you to enjoy some of our social services like education and basic health care. Having the resident’s registration card will also enable individuals and businesses to access interventions for small and medium enterprises as well as interventions related to poverty eradication.”

‘’This government has recognised citizenship as what the Nigerian constitution advocates rather than ‘indigenship’ and ‘settlership.’ We believe that the dichotomy between indigenes and settlers has brought untold problems to the country and has slowed down the unity of our great nation,” he said.

The governor further argued that Kaduna state is ‘’concerned about citizens of Nigeria that are registered as residents, that pay tax and contribute to the economic wellbeing of our state.”

Vanguard News Nigeria