Nigeria seeks support to operationalize new digital ID law as NIN tops 136M

Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has begun a nationwide multi-stakeholder engagement aimed at creating the enabling environment for the full operationalization of the country’s newly enacted digital identity legal framework.

NIMC Director General Abisoye Coker-Odusote embarked on that engagement recently at a time when the number of people registered for the National Identification Number (NIN) has gone past 136 million. This number means that more than 12 million NINs have been issued since October 2025, when the figure stood at 123.9 million.

Enacted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last month, the NIMC Act 2026, as it is officially referred to, seeks to streamline identity management in Nigeria and support broader trusted digital public infrastructure (DPI) implementation efforts. It replaces a 19-year-old legislation (the NIMC Act 2007) which authorities had described as obsolete.

Speaking recently during a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the NIMC boss explained the key points of the law and renewed the federal government’s pledge to expand identity coverage. She said their ambition is to continue expanding NIN enrollment, especially as the legislation recognizes the credential as the foundational identity under the “one person, one identity” policy.

Budget and Economic Planning Minister Abubakar Bagudu, for his part, described the legislative reforms as a strategic step in driving Nigeria’s digital transformation and the digital economy. He noted that a streamlined national digital identity system will go a long way in facilitating access to services and assisting government in making informed policy and planning decisions.

With 136 million people now registered, the NIMC still needs to issue around 44 million NINs if it must meet a target of 180 million by December 31, following a restructuring of the country’s Identity for Development (Nigeria ID4D) initiative, which has funding from the World Bank, the French Development Agency, and the European Investment Bank.

The identity authority believes it can meet the target, nonetheless, especially with the coming of the new legislation and its resolve to move the NIN from a mere identity tool to one that effectively enables and simplifies access to public and private sector services.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  digital public infrastructure  |  National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)  |  National Identity Number (NIN)  |  Nigeria