By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to achieve universal digital identity enrolment across the country 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, announced the renewed drive 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 provisions and strategic implications of the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026.
Idris described a robust national identity system as critical to effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation, stressing that accurate population data is essential for implementing government reforms.
He commended NIMC for enrolling more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database, describing the achievement as a major milestone. However, he noted that about 100 million Nigerians are yet to be enrolled and urged the Commission to sustain efforts to ensure no citizen is left behind.
The minister called on NIMC to deepen collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), noting that the agency’s presence in all 774 local government areas makes it well-positioned to drive grassroots awareness and encourage nationwide enrolment.
Idris also praised NIMC for maintaining what he described as a secure identity ecosystem without any reported data breach, assuring the Commission of the support of all communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to boost public awareness campaigns on digital identity.
Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting the nationwide enrolment exercise through its extensive grassroots network. He said the collaboration would help ensure that residents in rural and underserved communities obtain their National Identification Numbers (NINs) and benefit from government programmes.
Speaking during the visit, NIMC Director-General, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 modernizes Nigeria’s identity management framework by strengthening provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure 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 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.
According to her, NIMC is also working with security agencies and other stakeholders to combat identity fraud, strengthen digital trust and support the country’s digital economy.
Highlighting key provisions of the new law, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, said the Act establishes the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), stronger data privacy protections and broader use of the National Identification Number across public and private sector services.
He added that NIMC has integrated its services with more than 250 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), while deploying digital innovations that have improved service delivery and significantly reduced enrolment time.
