THE National Identification Authority (NIDA) is investigating an incident that resulted in deleting some important details on 21, 224 newly issued national identity cards distributed nationwide.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Head of the ID department at NIDA, Edson Guyaye, stated that the agency was probing whether the issue stemmed from a malfunction of the production machines, ink, or raw cards, to resolve it without additional costs.

"We advise the public to act upon encountering such identity cards. Anyone whose ID exhibits such defects should return it to the collection point or any nearby NIDA office," he said. Guyaye mentioned that the agency is aware of 21,224 cards with defects, including deletions of names, photos, and dates of birth, amounting to 0.09 percent of the 21,322,098 national identity cards issued.

He noted that the government had allocated 42.5bn/- for procuring raw cards last October to improve mass production, distribution, and issuance of national identity cards, addressing public demand.

The exercise aimed to provide identity cards to every citizen with National Identification Numbers (NIN), distributing them through local government authorities and NIDA offices nationwide.

However, Guyaye acknowledged that approximately two million identity cards, particularly in urban areas, have not yet been collected.

"Let me clarify that there has been misinformation regarding the quality of these cards. They meet all required international standards. This issue is a minor occurrence typical in manufacturing industries," he clarified.

Earlier this year, NIDA introduced a new system to streamline ID collection, allowing individuals to easily locate collection points.

The new system facilitates collection for those who have not yet collected their IDs and those who have been issued National Identification Numbers.