FG Targets Universal Digital Identity as Over 136 Million Nigerians Enrolled
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said a reliable and inclusive national identity system is essential to the success of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Nigeria’s broader reform programme.
Speaking in Abuja while receiving the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team, Idris stressed that effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation depend on an accurate and comprehensive national identity database.
According to the minister, government reforms can only succeed when authorities have reliable data on the population they are planning for.
He disclosed that more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have already been enrolled into the National Identity Database but noted that about 100 million people are yet to be captured.
Idris urged NIMC to strengthen its collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), noting that the agency’s presence in all 774 Local Government Areas would help drive grassroots sensitisation and achieve universal digital identity enrolment.
The minister also commended NIMC for maintaining a secure identity ecosystem without any reported data breach and pledged the support of all public communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation to boost public awareness.
In her remarks, NIMC Director-General Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 has modernised Nigeria’s identity management framework by strengthening provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure and digital trust.
She added that President Tinubu had directed the Commission to commence ward-level enrolment across the country to ensure rural communities are not excluded from government intervention programmes.
IBN News will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on Nigeria’s digital identity expansion programme.
