NIMC crosses 136m enrolments, moves to make NIN Nigeria’s only official identity

Nigeria’s drive to build a single national identity system has reached a major milestone, with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announcing that more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have now been enrolled into the National Identity Database.

The achievement comes as the newly signed National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 takes effect, replacing the 2007 law and giving stronger legal backing to Nigeria’s digital identity programme.

Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the director-general of NIMC, announced the figure during a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, where discussions centred on implementing the new law and deepening collaboration between government agencies.

Beyond the enrolment figures, analysts say the development marks another important step in Nigeria’s efforts to build a digital economy where citizens can access government services using a single trusted identity.

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The new Act positions the National Identification Number (NIN) as Nigeria’s primary identity under the government’s “one person, one identity” policy. It also empowers NIMC to serve as the country’s root certificate authority for digital identity while introducing stronger data protection, cybersecurity safeguards and digital credentials.

Coker-Odusote said the commission remains committed to enrolling every Nigerian and legal resident as quickly as possible while working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to ensure the NIN supports economic planning and national development.

She also appreciated the support of Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator, in advancing president Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through digital identity reforms.

Bagudu described the new legislation as a transformative law that provides Nigeria with a stronger legal foundation for a secure, trusted and inclusive national identity system.

According to him, the success of the law will not be judged by its passage alone but by how effectively it improves the lives of Nigerians.

He urged stronger cooperation among federal, state and local governments to eliminate the duplication of identity databases across public institutions.

“The National Identification Number should serve as Nigeria’s single, universally accepted identity standard, supporting efficient service delivery and good governance,” the minister said.

Why the milestone matters

Although 136 million enrolments represent significant progress, the figure also shows that Nigeria still has work to do. With the country’s population estimated at over 240 million, tens of millions of Nigerians, particularly children, rural residents and vulnerable groups, are yet to obtain a NIN.

Expanding enrolment remains critical because the NIN increasingly serves as the gateway for accessing government programmes, financial services, telecommunications registration, passports, tax administration and social intervention schemes.

A complete and reliable identity database can also help government reduce fraud, improve tax administration, strengthen security, support financial inclusion and ensure that public resources reach the intended beneficiaries.

World Bank support behind Nigeria’s identity expansion

The progress also reflects years of financial and technical support from the World Bank, which has backed Nigeria’s digital identity programme through the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative.

The World Bank has supported the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (Nigeria ID4D) Project, a major programme designed to help the country expand access to legal identity for millions of people while strengthening the institutions responsible for identity management.

The project aims to increase the number of people with a trusted digital identity and improve the country’s identity ecosystem by making it more inclusive, secure and interoperable.

Beyond funding enrolment activities, the support has focused on improving NIMC’s technology infrastructure, strengthening data protection, expanding enrolment centres, training personnel and ensuring that women, rural communities and vulnerable populations are not left behind.

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The broader objective is to ensure that a trusted digital identity becomes the foundation for financial inclusion, healthcare, education, social protection and digital government services.

For Nigeria, a stronger identity system also supports better economic planning because government agencies can rely on a single verified database rather than maintaining separate records that often contain duplicates and inconsistencies.

The new NIMC Act is therefore expected to accelerate these reforms by providing the legal framework needed to integrate identity management across public institutions while improving confidence in Nigeria’s digital economy.

With more than 136 million people already enrolled, attention is now shifting from registration to ensuring that the national identity system is fully integrated into government services and delivers measurable benefits to citizens through faster service delivery, improved planning and more transparent public administration.