The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has dismissed claims by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) that it is exceeding its statutory mandate through its involvement in the proposed National Learner Identification Number (LIN), insisting that it is neither the originator nor the implementing authority of the initiative.
The clarification follows a statement by NANS President, Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, rejecting the proposed learner identification system as unnecessary and potentially duplicative of the National Identification Number (NIN), while questioning the agency’s role in promoting the policy.
NANS, in a statement signed by its President, Babatunde Afeez Akinteye, condemned the NOA for what it described as an overreach of its mandate, insisting that policies with far-reaching implications for students should not be introduced without consulting their representatives.
Responding to the criticism, NOA Director-General, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said the agency’s involvement is limited to its legal responsibility of communicating government policies and creating channels for public feedback.
He explained that NOA’s mandate extends across ministries, departments and agencies, requiring it to provide Nigerians with accurate, timely and accessible information on government programmes, regardless of which institution formulated or is implementing them.
“NOA’s role is to ensure that citizens understand what government is doing, why it is doing it and how they can engage with it. This is fundamentally different from being the institution that formulates or implements the policy,” Issa-Onilu said.
The NOA boss stressed that the authorities responsible for the LIN initiative remain solely in charge of its formulation and implementation, while the agency’s duty is to explain the policy and provide platforms for citizens to express their concerns and opinions.
According to him, this two-way engagement is reflected in NOA’s Pulse of the Nation reports, which capture public reactions and relay them back to government as part of its renewed communication strategy.
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Issa-Onilu acknowledged NANS as a critical stakeholder in policies affecting students and urged the association to direct its concerns on the proposed learner identification system to the appropriate government institution responsible for the initiative.
He also maintained that communicating a government policy should not be misconstrued as creating, imposing or implementing it.
The Director-General reaffirmed NOA’s readiness to engage with NANS, students and other stakeholders on questions surrounding the proposed LIN, including concerns about its relationship with the existing National Identification Number.
He said the agency remains committed to transparent, inclusive and two-way communication with Nigerians, insisting that citizens’ perspectives are essential to effective public policy communication and democratic governance.
