The Federal Government has intensified 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.
The 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 her management team during a courtesy visit to present the strategic provisions of the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026.
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Idris said an inclusive and reliable national identity system is critical to effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion, digital transformation and the successful implementation of the Federal Government’s reform agenda.
According to the Minister, accurate identity data is essential for designing and implementing government policies that respond to the needs of citizens.
“Identity management is at the heart of the reform agenda of Mr. President because if you are reforming, you have to know who you are reforming for,” he said.
The Minister commended the leadership of Dr. Coker-Odusote for transforming the Commission over the past three years, noting that more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have been enrolled into the National Identity Database.
He, however, observed that nearly 100 million Nigerians are yet to be captured and stressed that every citizen deserves to be included in national planning and development programmes.
To accelerate enrolment, Idris called for intensified public enlightenment campaigns and urged NIMC to deepen collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), whose presence across all 774 Local Government Areas provides a strong platform for grassroots mobilisation.
He also applauded NIMC for maintaining a secure identity management system without any reported data breach, assuring the Commission of the Ministry’s full support through its communication platforms, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to drive nationwide awareness on the benefits of digital identity.
Earlier, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the Agency’s readiness to support NIMC’s nationwide enrolment campaign through its extensive grassroots network.
He said the Agency would continue working closely with NIMC to ensure residents of rural and underserved communities understand the importance of obtaining the National Identification Number (NIN) and are not excluded from government interventions and public services.
Speaking during the visit, NIMC Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 modernises Nigeria’s identity management framework by introducing stronger provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and digital trust.
She disclosed that the Commission has commenced a ward-by-ward enrolment exercise across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards, following President Tinubu’s directive to ensure that no Nigerian is excluded from the national identity system.
According to her, the exercise targets women, children, persons with disabilities, rural dwellers, refugees, legal residents and Nigerians in the diaspora, while the Commission is also collaborating with security agencies to combat identity fraud and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Presenting highlights of the new legislation, the Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, described the Act as a landmark reform that redefines Nigeria’s identity management architecture by establishing NIMC as the country’s sole statutory authority for digital identity management.
He added that the legislation provides the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), stronger data privacy protections and wider integration of the National Identification Number across government and private sector services.
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Adegoke further revealed 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.