FG Intensifies Nationwide Digital Identity Enrolment Through NIMC Partnership
The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to achieve universal digital identity enrolment across Nigeria through a strengthened partnership between the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and members of the Commission’s management during a courtesy visit.
The visit provided an opportunity for NIMC to present the key provisions and strategic implications of the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026, which seeks to modernise Nigeria’s digital identity management system.
The Minister described an inclusive national identity system as critical to effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion, digital transformation and the successful implementation of the Federal Government’s reform agenda.
According to him, a reliable identity database is essential for planning and delivering government programmes to citizens.
He commended NIMC for enrolling more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database, describing the achievement as significant while noting that millions of Nigerians are yet to be captured.
Idris stressed the need for sustained public awareness and grassroots mobilisation, urging NIMC to deepen collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), whose nationwide presence would support efforts to reach communities across all 774 local government areas.
The Minister also praised the Commission for maintaining a secure digital identity ecosystem without any reported data breach, assuring NIMC of the Ministry’s support through its communication platforms, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to drive nationwide sensitisation on the importance of digital identity enrolment.
Earlier, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting NIMC’s enrolment campaign through extensive grassroots advocacy and public enlightenment.
He said the partnership would help ensure that citizens, particularly those in rural and underserved communities, understand the importance of obtaining the National Identification Number (NIN) and are not excluded from government programmes and services.
In her remarks, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the NIMC Act 2026 introduces significant reforms to Nigeria’s identity management framework by incorporating provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure and digital trust.
She explained that the legislation positions NIMC as Nigeria’s foundational digital identity authority and disclosed that the Commission has commenced a nationwide ward-by-ward enrolment exercise across the country’s 8,809 political wards, in line with President Tinubu’s directive to ensure that every Nigerian is captured in the National Identity Database.
According to her, the exercise targets women, children, persons with disabilities, rural communities, refugees, legal residents and Nigerians in the diaspora, while the Commission continues to work closely with security agencies and relevant stakeholders to combat identity fraud and strengthen confidence in the country’s digital economy.
Also speaking, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, described the new legislation as a landmark reform that redefines Nigeria’s identity management architecture.
He noted that the Act establishes a legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), stronger data protection measures and broader application of the National Identification Number across government and private sector services.
He added that NIMC has integrated its services with more than 250 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) while introducing digital innovations that have significantly improved service delivery and reduced enrolment time for Nigerians.
FG Intensifies Nationwide Digital Identity Enrolment Through NIMC Partnership