Information Ministry, NIMC Partner to Accelerate Nationwide Digital Identity Registration
Oru Leonard
The Federal Government of Nigeria, has intensified efforts to achieve universal digital identity enrolment across Nigeria through a strengthened partnership between the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the initiative in Abuja on Wednesday while receiving the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team during a courtesy visit to present the provisions and strategic implications of the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026.
Idris described a robust national identity system as critical to effective governance, national planning, financial inclusion and digital transformation, stressing that accurate population data is essential for implementing government reforms.
The minister commended NIMC’s achievements under Coker-Odusote’s leadership, noting that more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have already been enrolled into the National Identity Database. He, however, urged greater efforts to capture the remaining estimated 100 million Nigerians yet to register.
To accelerate enrolment, Idris called for deeper collaboration between NIMC and the National Orientation Agency (NOA), leveraging the agency’s presence across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas to drive grassroots awareness and sensitisation.
He also praised NIMC for maintaining a secure digital identity ecosystem without any reported data breaches and pledged that all communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), would support nationwide public enlightenment campaigns on the benefits of digital identity registration.
Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to supporting NIMC’s enrolment campaign, particularly in rural and underserved communities, to ensure that no Nigerian is excluded from government programmes and services.
Speaking during the visit, NIMC Director-General, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the NIMC Act 2026 modernises Nigeria’s identity management framework by introducing stronger provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure and digital trust.
She disclosed that the Commission has commenced a nationwide ward-by-ward enrolment exercise across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards, targeting women, children, persons with disabilities, rural dwellers, refugees, legal residents and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Coker-Odusote added that NIMC is working with security agencies and relevant institutions to combat identity fraud, strengthen digital trust and support the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Also speaking, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, described the new Act as a landmark reform that repositions the Commission as Nigeria’s sole statutory authority for digital identity management. He said the legislation provides the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), enhanced data privacy protection and expanded use of the National Identification Number (NIN) across government and private sector services.
According to him, NIMC has integrated its systems with more than 250 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), while deploying digital innovations that have improved service delivery and significantly reduced enrolment time for citizens.
Cover Photo Caption, R–L: Director of Operations, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Uche Chigbo; Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote; Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, fnipr; Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu; Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, and Director, Production, Publication and Documentation Department (PPDD), Mr. Ibidapo Okunnu; and Director, Public Relations and Protocol Department (PRPD), Dr. Suleiman Haruna, during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to the Honourable Minister on July 8, 2026, in Abuja. Photo: Khalid Ahmed/FMINO.
