The National Identification Authority (NIA) has said it stands by its damning verdict for the quality of biometric data to be collected by the National Communications Authority (NCA) in the ongoing SIM re-registration exercise.
“The NIA stands by every statement contained in its response letter of 13th September 2021 as being technically factual, accurate, correct and honest,” the authority’s Acting Head-Corporate Affairs, Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu, said in a Wednesday 19 January 2022 press release.
Earlier this week, the NIA has said it cannot guarantee the sanctity and quality of data collected by the telcos in the ongoing SIM re-registration.
In a leaked letter that responded to a raft of concerns raised by members of the Concerned Mobile Subscribers, the Executive Director of the NIA, Prof Ken Attafuah, stated that even the devices being used to capture the biometric data of subscribers has not been certified by the Authority.
“NIA cannot endorse or guarantee the quality of biometrics to be captured by NCA (during the SIM card registration exercise) with devices NIA has not duly certified,” the NIA stated.
READ ALSO: NIA's Prof Attafuah offers damning verdict about ongoing SIM registration
The NIA letter also pointed out some technical issues with the ongoing exercise, noting for instance that it cannot crosscheck the accuracy of the data collected as part of the SIM registration process because subscribers data were stored on the database of a third party.
“Technically, NIA is unable to verify against the NIS database non-live biometric information of applicants once collected and stored by third parties. NIA cannot guarantee the quality and accuracy of biometric data collected and transferred to it by a user agency. As NIA is not part of the biometric data collection stage of the SIM card registration process, it is also unable to confirm that it is in a position to verify the non-live biometric information to be collected by the telecommunication companies or NCA for and on behalf of the telecommunications companies,” the Executive Director stated.
To be clear, the NIA is mandated by law to verify the identities of persons who seek to take part in transactions that require verification of identity.
The notable Ghanaians who form the Concerned Mobile Subscribers are leading a campaign to boycott calls and the use of mobile phone services on February 8, 2022, as part of a massive protest against the SIM card re-registration exercise.
So far more than 7,000 Ghanaians -- including some influential members of society -- have signed up to join the ‘No Calls Day’ next month.