Nigeria has gotten $228.59 million from the $430 million earmarked for the Digital Identity for Development (ID4D) project, which was meant to facilitate the enrolment of 148 million National Identification Numbers by June 2024.
Nigeria failed to meet the enrollment target of 148 million by June 2024, and the World Bank agreed to extend the $430 million facility for the project until 2026. In a new document detailing the terms of the restructuring, the World Bank noted that the project disbursement rate stood at 53.16 percent as of November 2024.
“The proposed restructuring would extend the closing date from December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2026,” the bank said.
According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria had issued 115 million NINs in November, leaving a shortfall of 33 million of the initial targets for 2024. Part of the terms of the new agreement sets a new target of 180 million NINs by 2026 (i.e., 65 million NINs in two years).
The Nigeria ID4D project was approved by the Board of Executive Directors of the International Development Association (IDA) and the associated Financing Agreement (FA). It was signed in February 2021 and became effective on December 14, 2021.
Read also: NIN cards will be used for payments, cash withdrawals — NIMC
The project aims to increase the number of persons with national ID numbers. It has $430 million in total financing (with $115 million of which is the IDA, $100 million equivalent from the French Development Agency, AFD), and $215 million equivalent from the European Investment Bank (EIB)).
From the outset, the project faced 22 months of implementation and disbursement but has now got going. According to the Washington-based bank, the project has provided infrastructure and enrollment process support for 74 million NIN.
Despite the progress made, the global bank noted that with a population of 210 million, almost half of Nigerians, especially women, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged persons, do not have digital identification. It noted that the ID4D project has procured 1,000 enrollment devices for the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office and an additional 3,000 devices will be specifically procured for the enrollment of poor and vulnerable individuals.
After years of being slowed down by capacity issues, NIMC is in the process of expanding its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to allow for storage of 250 million NIN and is scheduled for completion by March 2025.
The World Bank highlighted that this and other improvements by NIMC would set the tone for digital identity processes on the continent.
“Nigeria can set the standard for developing systems that are based on open standards, are interoperable, and enable access to services. By investing in digital identification and the accompanying analogue complements, Nigeria can unlock its digital economy which will have a ripple effect across the continent,” it added.
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