President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, announced that over 126 million Nigerians have now been enrolled in the National Identity Database, even as the Federal Government has expanded the system’s capacity from 100 million to 250 million to promote universal coverage.
Represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, the President made the disclosure at the 2025 National Day of Identity Celebration, organised by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and themed, “Public Key Infrastructure: Backbone to Digital Public Infrastructure”, in Abuja.
According to him, the milestone was not just a statistic, but a story of empowerment, inclusion, and national progress. Tinubu stressed that the NIN is not just a number, but a key to dignity, access, and security for every Nigerian, adding that his government will continue to strengthen the identity ecosystem to ensure no citizen is left behind.
The President explained that enrolment had reached Nigerians across borders, with more than 200 diaspora centres established and special exercises conducted to register refugees, internally displaced persons, and inmates of correctional facilities.
He added that a disability inclusion policy had trained over 5,000 agents to efficiently serve persons with disabilities, indicating the government’s commitment to leave no one behind.
Tinubu noted that the commission had cleared over 2.5 million outstanding records, launched mobile and web self-service platforms that processed more than 500,000 record updates, and deployed over 800 mobile enrolment devices nationwide.
On integration, he disclosed that the NIMC had harmonised and linked data with 125 partner agencies, including the Nigeria Immigration Service for passports, the Federal Inland Revenue Service for tax records, the National Population Commission for birth registration.
He also commended Director-General/CEO of the NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, for transforming the agency in just over one year through “innovation, discipline, and vision.”
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to enforcing the Mandatory Use Regulation for the NIN, stressing that a secure and trusted identity system would unlock opportunities across education, finance, healthcare, agriculture, and governance. He underscored Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) as the backbone of digital trust, warning that without it, digital services remain vulnerable.
Also speaking, Coker-Odusote stressed that the enrolment progress reflects NIMC’s dedication to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which aims to provide legal identity for all.
She disclosed that over 449,000 students had benefited from loans facilitated by NIN verification since May 2024, with a total of N86.35 billion disbursed.
The NIMC boss added that the NIN had been integrated with agriculture programmes, allowing over 30,000 metric tonnes of rice to be distributed at subsidised rates to verified beneficiaries, while financial inclusion for women and other vulnerable groups had also improved through digital identity.
On his part, Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said identity remains the cornerstone of modern governance, stressing that PKI is essential for building open, secure, and interoperable digital public infrastructure.
“Countries that build secure DPI increase inclusion, lower transaction costs, and attract investment. PKI is the difference between digital convenience and digital risk,” Tunji-Ojo clarified.
He pointed to reforms such as the commissioning of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC), which now houses a modern Command and Control Centre, a biometric production facility, and a data centre to support border management and passport services.
