Dr Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has said the Federal Government is planning to replace Bank Verification Numbers with the National Identity Numbers.

The minister said this after a facility tour and inspection of the ongoing NIN enrolment exercise at NIMC and other designated centres in Abuja.

He said he had made a presentation to the National Economic Sustainability Committee and drew the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor on the need to replace BVN with NIN.

According to him, the BVN is a regulator’s policy, while NIN is a law.

He said, “The strength of the law wherever you go is not the same with a policy of one institution.’’

The minister noted that BVN was only applicable to those who had a bank accounts while NIN was for every citizen and legal resident in the country.

“BVN is our secondary database, while NIN and the database is the primary one in the country that each and every institution should make reference to NIMC,” he said.