Tinubu directs NIMC to register all Nigerians for NIN by end of 2026

President Bola Tinubu has instructed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to enroll all Nigerians into the nation’s national identity database by the year 2026.

This instruction was stated by the Director-General and CEO of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, in an interview she granted Channels Television in the show titled “Sunday Politics”.

She explained that there are efforts by the federal government to scale up the national identification number (NIN) registration campaign such that all Nigerians are enrolled in the national identity database.

According to her, 137,371,080 Nigerians have been enrolled in the national identity database, saying this is a huge milestone in the program. She added that the government is set to achieve its goal of enrolling all eligible citizens.

It was also said that President Tinubu has instructed the commission to take the exercise beyond urban areas to various communities across the nation.

“We are now mandated by the President that we should go down to the community level and enroll every single Nigerian. The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian,” she said.

In addition to this, the chairman of the National Identity Management Commission said that the commission is working on improving registration methods, especially for those living in underserved areas.

She further revealed that NIMC is collaborating with various organizations under the World Bank-supported ID4D project to help build the country’s national identification system, develop data infrastructure and expedite nationwide enrolment.

The federal government believes that with a robust database of national identity, access to government services will be improved, security will be enhanced and financial inclusion of citizens will be made easier.

The Nigerian Identity Number (NIN) has been linked with various government services like telecommunication, banking and social intervention programs in order to create a unified identity system in Nigeria.