World Bank revises Nigeria’s digital ID project as country fails to meet critical targets

Some implementation adjustments have been made to the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development (Nigeria ID4D) project sponsored by the World Bank (WB) and two other international financiers (the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank).

The project was due to close on June 30 2024 with Nigeria required to have enrolled at least 148 million people for national digital ID. But this and other targets are yet to be met.

In a Disclosable Restructuring Paper on the Nigeria ID4D, the World Bank indicated that readjusting the project became inevitable after two co-financiers said they would discontinue their involvement in the project if the World Bank stopped being the lead implementor.

“The World Bank is the lead implementer for this project which is co financed by French Development Agency (AFD) and European Investment Bank (EIB). Both AFD and EIB have closing dates in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Both co-financers have indicated that they will cancel their financing if the World Bank is no longer the lead financier and implementor of this project,” reads a portion the WB paper.

“As such, it is critical that the World Bank extend the closing date of the project to allow continuity across all co-financers and avoid any disruptions to good progress made so far and to safeguard the positive impact it has had on Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure.”

Funding to the tune of $430 million was approved for the Nigeria ID4D project in February 2020, with a couple of targets set for the country to meet before the closing deadline of June 30, 2024.

The project was principally meant to expand national ID issuance in Nigeria to simplify access to important services, based on a foundational identity system that is robust and inclusive.

With some of the targets such as the amendment of the NIMC Act and the expansion of the ABIS to allow for more data storage yet to be fully met, the new proposed deadline for the project is now June 30, 2026.

In the paper, the World Bank describes the project journey as “moderately satisfactory” with a 37.37 disbursement rate, pointing out that it faced a 22-month delay at the start of the implementation process for a number of reasons.

This notwithstanding, the Bretton Woods institution acknowledges that the project has also made “considerable progress on project activities” as Nigeria has been able to meet two critical disbursement conditions, which are the putting in place of a personal data protection legislation, and the acceptability of the national identity management system (NIMS). However, with the project extension, the NIMC is expected to design and implement a new NIMS to enable authentication services.

There are hopes that the NIMC Act, whose amendment is expected to “promote an inclusive and non-discriminatory legal and regulatory framework” will see the light of day by September, while the ABIS storage expansion contracted to Idemia is expected by March next year, the WB paper projects.

Other than the failure to meet certain targets for funding disbursement, the World Bank indicates in its paper that the adjustments reflect the changing realities of the moment and underline the Nigerian government’s determination to build digital public infrastructure (DPI) including a trusted and inclusive digital ID as a channel for ensuring quick and convenient access to public services.

The project extension is thus described as “indispensable” for the realization of this goal of having an “inclusive and trusted ID system that will strengthen the transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of governance and the delivery of public services and programs.”

The Nigeria ID4D, implemented by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), was conceived with four key objectives, namely to strengthen the legal and institutional framework, put in place a foundational ID system that is inclusive and robust, facilitate access to services through a national identity, and then ensure management and coordination of the system once it’s up and running

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  identity management  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria  |  Nigeria ID4D  |  World Bank