Nigeria pushes for universal digital ID as NIN use cases expand

Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says it has received fresh presidential instructions to make sure the National Identification Number (NIN) is issued to every Nigerian before this year runs out. The Director General of the identity authority, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed the information on July 12 while speaking on local Channels Television.

This comes as the country continues to integrate the NIN for different sectoral uses as authorities aim to move from just having digital public infrastructure (DPI) to making sure it serves a concrete public service delivery purpose.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directives go in the direction of a target set by the Nigeria Identification for Development (Nigeria ID4D) project to enroll at least 180 million people by December 31 after the initiative was restructured two years ago.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics program, Odusote said they have been strengthening efforts aimed at building their network of front-end partners to assist them in reaching the set target. She explained that many of the partners “are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf,” and they are hoping to reach the universal identity milestone because it is necessary for strategic national planning.

She mentioned that NIN registrations had topped 137 million, 43 million short of the World Bank target. It is not clear what Nigeria’s population is, she said, but estimates put it at between 200 million and 250 million people, spread across 36 states and 774 local government areas.

The NIMC boss emphasized the foundational role of the NIN as outlined in a new legal framework enacted by Tinubu at the end of last month. The new digital ID law reinforces Nigeria’s push for a more inclusive, trusted, and interoperable DPI that contributes to a stronger digital economy.

Following the enactment of the legislation, the NIMC has embarked on a tour engaging different stakeholders to support its full operationalization.

During discussions with the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, Odusote stated that the NIN is vital in boosting the country’s corporate identity ecosystem. Both officials recognized the fact that going forward, all corporate business transactions must be conducted based on identity verified against the NIMC’s database.

Odusote also recently met with the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, where they discussed efforts to expand the use of the NIN in the education sector. The target is to reach about 80 million learners, according to a government statement. Alausa said the National Learners’ Identification Number (LIN) has already been integrated with the NIN, as part of efforts to obtain and act on accurate education sector data.

The NIN is also being integrated with Nigeria’s postcode system to improve address verification, Politics Nigeria reports. The initiative follows an MoU signed between Odusote and the Postmaster General of NIPOST, Tola Odeyemi. It entails assigning a postcode to every building across the country through a system that is linked to the NIMC’s identity database.

NIPOST has also been supporting the NIMC in conducting identity enrollment, especially in hard-to-reach areas of the country.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital government  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  government services  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria