Former President John Dramani Mahama and his wife Mrs. Lordina Mahama were enrolled onto the National Identity Register on Tuesday, 9th July 2019 and subsequently issued with the Ghana Card.
Other members of the former President’s household and office staff were also captured on the National Identification Authority’s database and were issued with the Ghana Card.
President Mahama used the occasion to emphasize the importance of the Ghana Card to the nation’s development and described the registration exercise as a non-partisan process in which all Ghanaians must readily participate.
He urged Ghanaians to “go out there and register for the Ghana Card”.
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, as the Chief Registration Officer, led a team of registration officials and some NIA executives to undertake the exercise at Mahama’s East Cantonments office.
Speaking after the exercise, Prof. Ken Attafuah expressed appreciation for the warm reception accorded the team and noted that, as with the other former Presidents, NIA was happy to register President Mahama at his convenience.
Professor Attafuah used the occasion to touch on the immense functionalities of the Ghana Card, which is a modern, smart, dual interface multi-purpose biometric ID card with solid security features, as well as the various mandatory uses of the card.
As a mark of honour and respect, the NIA has previously extended the same courtesy to other former presidents of the nation, namely, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and Mr John Agyekum Kufuor.
Professor Attafuah had earlier complained that earlier requests to have Mahama registered had received no reply.
Mahama had earlier refrained from taking part in the exercise and criticised the requirements being demanded by the NIA from Ghanaias seeking to receive their Ghana cards.
According to Mahama, the move would denationalise millions of Ghanaians.
The Minority in Parliament also refrained from registering for the card.
