FEDERAL Government has stepped up efforts to achieve universal digital identity enrolment through a strengthened partnership between the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

 

The initiative is designed to accelerate the enrolment of Nigerians into the National Identity Database and support the implementation of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

 

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday while receiving the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and members of her management team during a courtesy visit to present the provisions and strategic implications of the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026.

 

He described a robust national identity system as central to effective governance, economic planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation, stressing that government reforms can only succeed when backed by accurate demographic data.

 

“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. If you don’t know the number of people that you have and the demography and what they represent, how do you plan for them?” Idris said.

 

The minister commended the leadership of NIMC for enrolling more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database, describing the achievement as a major milestone.

 

“The 136 million already captured is very significant, but we still have about 100 million Nigerians left, and they also ought to be captured. Every Nigerian deserves to be included in our national planning,” he added.

 

Idris said achieving universal identity coverage would require sustained public awareness and grassroots mobilisation, urging NIMC to strengthen collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), which has offices across the country’s 774 local government areas.

 

“The National Orientation Agency is your best bet for reaching the grassroots. Please deepen your collaboration with NOA so that together we can ensure every Nigerian understands the importance of identity management,” he said.

 

The minister also applauded the Commission for maintaining what he described as a secure digital identity system without any reported data breach and pledged that the Ministry’s communication platforms, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), would support nationwide sensitisation on digital identity enrolment.

 

“I am happy to hear that you have not had a single data breach. Data privacy, transparency and public confidence are essential to the success of digital identity management, and we will continue to make all the communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation available to support your public enlightenment efforts,” he said.

 

Earlier, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the agency’s readiness to support NIMC’s nationwide enrolment campaign through its grassroots network.

 

“We know we’ve been working together, but I hope you will be coming forward so we can see how we can assist you, because we are present in those areas where you want to go and carry out public enlightenment and sensitisation,” Issa-Onilu said.

 

He added that the agency would continue to work closely with NIMC to ensure that people in rural and underserved communities understand the importance of obtaining the National Identification Number (NIN) and are not excluded from government programmes and services.

 

Responding, NIMC Director-General Abisoye Coker-Odusote said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 modernises Nigeria’s identity management framework by strengthening data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure and digital trust.

 

She disclosed that the Commission had commenced a ward-by-ward enrolment exercise across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards in line with President Tinubu’s directive to ensure that every Nigerian, including women, children, persons with disabilities, rural dwellers, refugees, legal residents and Nigerians in the diaspora, is enrolled in the National Identity Database.

 

Coker-Odusote added that NIMC was working with security agencies and other relevant institutions to tackle identity fraud, strengthen digital trust and support the country’s growing digital economy.