Nigeria stakeholders propose strategies to accelerate inclusive digital ID issuance

Stakeholders in Nigeria have called on the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to refresh the engagement with its partners and resolve logistical challenges in order to expand the issuance of the national digital ID to citizens.

Over 100 participants, drawn from different institutions concerned with the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (Nigeria ID4D) initiative, made the suggestion during a stakeholder consultation meeting of the identity project.

The participants, representing vulnerable groups, international agencies, the federal and state governments, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, women’s forums, disability associations, and partners of the project, took part in the 3rd Annual Stakeholder Consultation Workshop of the initiative last November.

The workshop, according to its final report, was organized through the project’s Ecosystem Coordination Strategic Unit, to review its implementation, the challenges hindering progress as well as measures that should be put in place to obtain more positive results.

The NIMC said the workshop is part of efforts aimed at ensuring strategic stakeholder management and sustaining social accountability in the drive to meet the Project Development Objective of the Nigeria Digital ID4D, which is increasing the number of persons with a National Identification Number (NIN) issued by a robust and inclusive foundational identity system that guarantees their access to services.

The Nigeria ID4D project, recall, got an extension of funding and technical support from the World Bank last year, with a revised target of getting at least 180 million digital IDs issued by December 2026.

During the workshop which saw presentations on different aspects of the ID project, the stakeholders noted that despite advancements recorded which include efforts to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework, build scalable ID infrastructure, facilitate access to services, inclusion and empowerment, and communication and awareness efforts, several challenges still impede NIN issuance across Nigeria.

These problems, they said, include funding and logistical difficulties, high fees for correcting NIN information by applicants, corruption in relation to NIN registration, lack of access to remote and underserved parts of the country, lack of easy access by people living with disabilities, concerns related to privacy and data security, and the lack of data harmonization across institutions.

In order to beat these challenges and push the country ahead in the pursuit of its legal identity-for-all goals, the stakeholders discussed the need to, among other actions, strengthen collaboration with state coordinators, local governments, and community leaders to increase awareness, community engagement and participation in the ID scheme, and integrate emerging technologies such as AI to improve efficiency and accessibility.

More suggestions include the need to deploy additional mobile enrollment units and incentivize agents to work in remote areas, build more partnerships such as with civil society groups to reach more marginalized groups, review correction fees for the NIN, tackle corruption by combatting illegal charges for NIN registration, enhance security collaboration, implement policies that drive inclusion, including financial inclusion, engage and continue legal reforms, and spread collaboration tentacles for data harmonization.

The stakeholders emphasized that collaboration among key stakeholders is the only way authorities can close identified gaps, enhance greater accessibility to ID services, and build a more robust and inclusive identification system that will ease life for all Nigerians and contribute to the economic development of the country.

These reflections come as the federal government says the need for digital ID in accessing social services is becoming inevitable.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital inclusion  |  Identification for Development (ID4D)  |  identity management  |  legal identity  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  Nigeria  |  Nigeria ID4D