President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every Nigerian is enrolled in the National Identity Number (NIN) database before the end of 2026.
The directive was disclosed by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, during an appearance on Sunday Politics on Channels Television.
According to her, the federal government’s goal is to establish a comprehensive national identity system that will strengthen governance, improve planning, and enhance the delivery of public services.
“The president has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian,” she said.
Coker-Odusote explained that the NIMC is partnering with private enrolment agents through the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project to accelerate nationwide registration.
She noted that the National Identification Number serves as a unique identifier, ensuring that every Nigerian is enrolled only once.
“The NIN is a unique identifier, so you’re only enrolled once,” she said.
The NIMC boss added that the nationwide enrolment exercise would also help determine Nigeria’s actual population, noting that current estimates range between 200 million and 250 million people.
According to her, having an accurate identity database is essential for effective governance and national planning.
Read Also:
- Tinubu Increases WAEC, NECO Registration Fee From ₦25,000 To ₦50,000
- Tinubu Approves Conversion Of Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa To Specialised Mining University
- Tinubu’s wife Defends ‘Akara Business’ Advice, Urges Davido, Burna Boy, Asake To Key In To Support The Poor
“How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr. President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian,” she stated.
Addressing concerns over multiple registrations, Coker-Odusote said the commission’s upgraded biometric verification system now prevents individuals from obtaining more than one identity.
She explained that unlike the previous system, which detected duplicate registrations only after records were submitted, the new platform identifies duplicates during enrolment using fingerprint and facial biometric verification.
She also revealed that public and private organisations will no longer independently capture citizens’ biometrics but will instead verify identities through NIMC’s Application Programming Interface (API).
According to her, telecommunications companies already use the system to authenticate SIM registration by matching applicants’ facial biometrics with the NIMC database in real time.
The development follows President Tinubu’s signing of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 into law on June 26. The new legislation replaces the 2007 Act and reinforces the Federal Government’s “One Person, One Identity” policy.
Under the new law, the National Identification Number becomes Nigeria’s foundational identity credential for accessing government and key private sector services, including banking, passport applications, tax administration, pensions, land transactions, and consumer credit.
