By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to partnering with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to strengthen digital identity management, improve education planning and support national development.
Speaking while receiving the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team during a stakeholder engagement on the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026, Dr. Alausa described a credible national identity system as a cornerstone of effective governance, quality education and sustainable economic growth.
The Minister said the reforms being implemented under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda are leveraging technology to improve transparency, strengthen institutions and combat corruption. He noted that education remains central to the administration’s vision of building a globally competitive, knowledge-driven economy.
Commending NIMC’s leadership, Dr. Alausa described the new NIMC Act as a landmark legislation that strengthens Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem and enhances access to government services through secure and globally aligned identity management.
He disclosed that the Ministry has made significant progress in integrating the National Learners’ Identification Number (LIN) with the National Identification Number (NIN) through the Nigeria Education Management Information System (NEMIS), creating a reliable database for evidence-based planning, efficient resource allocation and improved learning outcomes.
According to the Minister, with nearly 80 million learners across all levels of education, the sector provides one of the country’s largest platforms for expanding a trusted digital identity ecosystem.
Earlier, NIMC Director-General, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote said the nationwide engagement was aimed at sensitising Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the provisions of the NIMC Act 2026 and strengthening collaboration for its implementation.
She explained that the Act establishes NIMC as Nigeria’s foundational digital identity authority and provides the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), enabling secure digital governance and trusted electronic transactions.
She further revealed that over 120 million Nigerians have been enrolled into the national identity database, while NIMC has expanded identity verification services across key government institutions, financial institutions and telecommunications operators, alongside the introduction of the NIMC Authentication App and a free Digital ID Card.
Also speaking, the Head of Strategy and Programme Office, Dr. Alva Nkoku, said the new legislation marks Nigeria’s transition from conventional identity management to a comprehensive digital trust framework that supports secure authentication, digital signatures, certificate verification and paperless public administration.
He added that the framework will strengthen education service delivery through secure student enrolment, scholarship administration, examination management and certificate authentication, while reducing fraud and improving data integrity.
In her closing remarks, Engr. Coker-Odusote commended Dr. Alausa for the ongoing reforms in the education sector and reaffirmed NIMC’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the Ministry to ensure that learners fully benefit from Nigeria’s evolving digital identity ecosystem.
Dr. Alausa assured NIMC of the Ministry’s full support in implementing the provisions of the NIMC Act, stressing that the partnership will further enhance education service delivery, promote transparency and advance President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
