Abuja, Nigeria — National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) don announce say dem don enrol over 120 million Nigerians for National Identity Database. Dis achievement be big step towards NIMC goal to register all citizens and legal residents by end of 2025.
For press briefing wey happen for NIMC headquarters on Wednesday, the Director-General, Mrs. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, talk say dem don pass dem initial database capacity of 100 million and dem don upgrade infrastructure to fit accommodate up to 250 million enrollees.
“One of di key things wey we don do na to make sure say we fit enrol every single Nigerian. Our initial capacity na 100 million,” Coker-Odusote talk. “Now we don expand to 250 million. As of yesterday morning, we don enrol 120,040,000 Nigerians. So, we don enrol plenty people,” she continue.
Coker-Odusote add say dem dey committed to capturing every Nigerian before di year finish, calling dis goal ‘essential for national planning, security, and social services.’ “We go definitely ensure say we enrol all Nigerians and we go fit capture dem all before di end of dis year,” she talk.
Di National Identification Number (NIN) don become important requirement to access government services, banking, telecommunications, and even student loans. Coker-Odusote stressed say national identity system dey important to reduce fraud and provide unified identity for Nigerians across different sectors.
“Di NIN go help Nigerians access student loans, credit facilities, and government support programmes easily, ensuring say no duplication dey and go reduce di risk of identity fraud,” she explain.
She also address di matter of extortion and corruption wey dey follow enrolment process, confirm say NIMC don successfully reduce such wahala by at least 40 percent. Dis result come from reforms, better staff training, and partnership with World Bank under di Nigeria Identification for Development project.
Dis partnership don increase enrolment numbers, and di private sector dey play crucial role through di Frontier Partners scheme. “Dem [Frontier Partners] dey work with us to go communities to enrol Nigerians. Dis private sector integration don help us scale well,” Coker-Odusote talk, as she highlight how partnership don help di Commission reach citizens for both urban and rural areas.
She mention say di collaboration don create job opportunities, noting say state and local government offices don receive upgraded facilities and trained personnel to support NIN registration and modification processes. “We don create job opportunities by upgrading state and local government offices and training personnel to support NIN registration and modification processes,” she add.
Coker-Odusote also discuss new digital platforms wey dey simplify di enrolment process and reduce long queues. Dis include online pre-enrolment platform wey allow citizens book appointments and pre-fill dem information before dem visit enrolment centres, cutting processing time by half. “We don streamline di process to ensure say citizens fit provide dem biometrics for verification and updates easily,” she explain.
Di DG also highlight di launch of Self-Assist Modification Platform, wey go allow citizens modify dem personal data online. Dis platform go make e easy for Nigerians wey don relocate or need to update dem details to do am securely, further reducing di need for in-person visits to enrolment centres.
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