Tinubu sets December deadline for 95% NIN coverage

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President Bola Tinubu has ordered the National Identity Management Commission to expand National Identification Number enrolment to 95 per cent of the population by December 2026 as the Federal Government moves to deepen Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure.

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Tinubu gave the directive on Wednesday in Abuja during the 2026 National Identity Day celebration organised by the commission.

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Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President said NIN enrolment had climbed to about 142 million, compared with more than 80 million people captured in the National Identity Database when his administration took office.

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He said the government would now focus on closing the remaining identity gap through ward-level registration, mobile enrolment and licensed registration agents.

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“Today, NIN enrolment stands at about 142 million, a remarkable increase from the over 80 million Nigerians captured in the National Identity Database when we assumed office,” Tinubu said.

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“The next target is clear: we must work towards 95 per cent coverage by December 2026.”

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Beyond increasing enrolment figures, the President said the government wanted a national identity infrastructure that could serve as the foundation for a wider range of public and digital services.

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“Nigeria must build an identity system that is continuously useful, secure and responsive to the needs of Nigerians,” he said.

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Tinubu said the administration was developing an interconnected digital public system that could support services such as electronic health records and transport systems while improving the coordination of government data.

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He stressed that the expansion must not come at the expense of citizens’ privacy and other rights.

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“We must do this while protecting the rights, privacy and dignity of our citizens. The digital state must never become a state without accountability.

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“Our commitment must therefore remain clear: innovation must be matched by responsibility. Efficiency must be matched by inclusion, security must be matched by trust. And digital transformation must ultimately improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians,” he said.

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According to the President, the identity programme is also creating jobs and business opportunities through partnerships with the private sector, state governments and public institutions.

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He disclosed that 173 private companies, 30 state governments and 14 public sector institutions had been licensed to participate in enrolment.

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“This is a digital infrastructure creating real economic opportunity,” Tinubu said.

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He added that the network was providing opportunities for enrolment officers, data professionals, supervisors, technology specialists and other workers involved in the identity ecosystem.

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Tinubu also identified the national identity database as an important component of the government’s security architecture, particularly in tackling identity fraud and financial crimes.

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“A secure identity system is indispensable to a secure nation,” he said.

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The President said improved identity verification and information sharing between government agencies could strengthen the country’s response to security threats. He cited cooperation involving the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as an example of the benefits of integrated government systems.

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The NIMC Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said enrolment had risen from fewer than 100m people to more than 142m Nigerians and legal residents.

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She attributed much of the increase to the commission’s ward-to-ward enrolment initiative, which expanded registration services to the country’s 8,809 wards.

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“Our reach tells its own story. Enrolment has grown from less than 100 million to over 142 million Nigerians and legal residents,” Coker-Odusote said.

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“The engine behind that growth is the ward-to-ward enrolment project, undertaken directly under Mr President’s initiative.”

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Under the programme, National Youth Service Corps members were deployed as adult enrolment officers alongside NIMC’s front-end partners, extending registration services to communities previously without easy access.

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Coker-Odusote said NIMC had also introduced a Self-Service Notification Platform, which had handled nearly two million record modifications.

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According to her, the platform allows users to initiate updates through their mobile phones and has reduced processing time from several weeks to between 24 and 48 hours.

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The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, also called for further expansion of the identity system, including services for Nigerians living abroad.

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“We need more in providing a trusted national public key infrastructure and digital public infrastructure that support secure digital identity, authentication and electronic trust services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

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He said a reliable identity infrastructure would be crucial to Nigeria’s digital economy, electronic governance and long-term development.

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The minister also commended Coker-Odusote and the NIMC management for the progress recorded in expanding enrolment and improving access to identity services.

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The 2026 National Identity Day celebration was themed “Nigeria’s Digital Public Ecosystem: Powering Africa’s Digital Economy,” and brought together government officials and stakeholders from the identity and digital economy sectors.

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