According to the minister, a comprehensive and inclusive national identity system is essential for effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation.
The Federal Government of Nigeria has intensified 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) , as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The renewed collaboration was announced during a meeting in Abuja where the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, received the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team following the enactment of the new NIMC Act 2026.
According to the minister, a comprehensive and inclusive national identity system is essential for effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation. He noted that more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have already been enrolled in the National Identity Database, but said efforts would continue to register the remaining population to ensure that every citizen is included in national development programmes.
To accelerate enrolment, the government plans to leverage the extensive grassroots network of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), which operates across all 774 local government areas. The ministry said the partnership will strengthen public awareness campaigns to educate citizens on the importance of obtaining a National Identification Number (NIN) and participating in the country’s digital identity ecosystem.
The minister also commended NIMC for maintaining a secure digital identity platform without any reported data breaches and pledged to deploy all communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to support nationwide sensitisation campaigns on digital identity enrolment.
During the meeting, NIMC said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 modernises Nigeria’s identity management framework by introducing provisions covering data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure (DPI) and digital trust. The legislation also formally establishes NIMC as Nigeria’s foundational digital identity authority.
The commission disclosed that it has launched a nationwide ward-by-ward enrolment campaign across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards to ensure broader inclusion in the National Identity Database. The initiative targets women, children, persons with disabilities, rural communities, refugees, legal residents and Nigerians living in the diaspora, while supporting access to government services and intervention programmes.
NIMC also said it is working with security agencies and other government institutions to combat identity fraud, strengthen digital trust and support the country’s secure digital economy. In addition, the commission revealed that it has integrated its identity platform with more than 250 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), introducing digital innovations that have improved service delivery and reduced enrolment processing times.
The government said the expanded partnership reflects its commitment to building a robust digital identity ecosystem that underpins public service delivery, economic development and digital inclusion across Nigeria.
