Tinubu Gives NIMC Fresh Order, Sets Deadline For Nationwide Citizen Registration

According to Ireporter Online, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed that the presidential directive is aimed at creating a reliable and comprehensive identity management system that will enhance governance, national planning and effective delivery of public services.

Coker-Odusote, while speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, explained that NIMC is collaborating with various partners through the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project to accelerate the nationwide enrolment exercise.

She noted that the National Identification Number (NIN) remains a unique identity tool designed to ensure that each individual has only one official record in the country’s database.

The NIMC boss stated that completing the registration process would also help Nigeria determine its actual population size, as current estimates vary between 200 million and 250 million people.

She said the commission had received a directive from President Tinubu to extend registration efforts to communities across the country to ensure that every citizen is captured.

Coker-Odusote added that the government has empowered private and public sector partners within the digital identity ecosystem to support the enrolment process and reach more Nigerians.

She explained that the improved biometric verification system operated by NIMC has strengthened efforts to prevent multiple registrations, unlike the previous system where duplicate records were identified only after submission.

According to her, the current system uses biometric features such as fingerprints and facial recognition to detect and invalidate duplicate identities, ensuring that one person cannot have multiple records.

She further revealed that organisations, including telecommunications companies, now rely on NIMC’s database through digital integration to verify identities during services such as SIM card registration.

The NIMC chief executive emphasised that a reliable identity system is essential for national security, accurate planning and improved access to government services, adding that biometric verification would continue to play a major role in protecting Nigeria’s identity management framework.