…Lauds NIMC for recording nearly 140m enrolment
By Emmanuel Elebeke
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Federal Government is targeting 95 per cent National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment coverage by December 2026.
Tinubu disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 8th National Identity Day celebration. He was represented at the event by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The President said the Federal Government was building the digital infrastructure required to leverage Nigeria’s identity system for economic growth.
He said the theme of the celebration underscored the importance of linking the country’s digital ecosystem with its digital economy and broader economic development.
“Nigeria’s digital ecosystem must power Nigeria’s digital economy and Nigeria’s digital economy must help power Africa’s economy. Our identity infrastructure will be a critical component of this ambition,” he said.
Tinubu said the government was working towards an ecosystem in which trusted digital identity would support digital commerce, financial services, social protection, healthcare, education and mobility.
He also disclosed that the government was accelerating the development of a Sovereign Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) as a trust layer within its broader Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) architecture.
According to him, the initiative would strengthen the foundations required for secure digital signatures, trusted electronic documents, encrypted transactions and secure government communications.
He said the system would enable businesses to transact digitally with greater confidence while allowing government documents to be authenticated without cumbersome physical processes.
Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to developing a robust DPI to improve access to public services, describing it as critical to healthcare, education and financial inclusion.
He commended the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Dr Abisoye Coker-Odusote, for her leadership of the commission.
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said identity management was central to economic growth, national security and social inclusion.
Tunji-Ojo said Tinubu’s assent to the NIMC Act 2026 provided what he described as a stronger legal foundation for digital identity management and the country’s digital economy.
He said a modern state needed reliable population data to improve the planning and delivery of public services, including education, healthcare and social interventions.
The minister commended Coker-Odusote for what he described as innovations and a citizen-focused approach at NIMC.
He, however, urged the commission to expand access to NIN enrolment for Nigerians in the diaspora and accelerate the development of trusted PKI and DPI systems for secure authentication.
Tunji-Ojo also urged Nigerians to enrol for NIN and protect their identity credentials, saying, “Your identity is your digital footprint.”
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said trusted identity management was increasingly important to education planning and access.
Alausa said the ministry was deploying NIN through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), with the identification number serving as the anchor for cleaning up the education database of more than 75 million students from basic to tertiary levels.
He said NIN had become mandatory for JAMB registration and other examinations as part of efforts to curb malpractice, eliminate multiple identities and improve the accuracy of student records.
According to him, integration with NIMC had enabled more than 800,000 students to access financing through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Alausa also commended NIMC for extending enrolment to 8,809 wards, saying the initiative would improve access to identity registration for school-age children.
Earlier, Coker-Odusote said the national identity database had grown from about 80 million NINs at the inception of the current administration to nearly 140 million.
She said the national identity infrastructure now had the capacity to accommodate 250 million records.
According to her, NIMC launched the Ward-Level Enrolment Drive in February 2026, taking free NIN registration to all 8,809 wards.
She added that more than 5,000 enrolment agents had been trained to improve access for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Coker-Odusote also said NIMC unveiled the NINAuth application on October 30, 2025, describing it as a consent-based, citizen-controlled authentication service.
She added that the commission had relaunched the General Multipurpose Card (GMPC) for identity verification, financial transactions and direct government-to-people services.
The NIMC DG also cited the enactment of the NIMC Act 2026, which she said strengthened data protection, expanded the mandatory use of NIN and increased penalties for identity-related offences.
She said the NIN system now supports economic activities, with more than 173 private companies, 30 state governments and 14 public institutions licensed as enrolment partners.
According to her, NIN has also served as the Tax ID for individuals since January 1, 2026, while more than 800,000 students have accessed education financing through NELFUND following the integration of the identity system.
Coker-Odusote said integration with the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Revenue Service and National Population Commission was also strengthening national security and service delivery.
The event was attended by the ministers of Interior, Education, and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
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