The Federal Government has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every eligible Nigerian is enrolled in the National Identification Number (NIN) database before the end of 2026, as the number of registered citizens has exceeded 137 million.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, revealing that President Bola Tinubu had set a deadline for the completion of the nationwide identity registration exercise.
According to her, the commission had successfully enrolled 137,371,080 Nigerians into the NIN database as of Sunday evening, although millions of citizens are yet to be captured.
Coker-Odusote noted that while Nigeria’s population is generally estimated at between 200 million and 250 million, the ongoing nationwide enrolment exercise would provide a more accurate picture of the country’s population.
She explained that President Tinubu had instructed the commission to ensure that no eligible Nigerian is left out of the national identity database before the end of the year, describing the directive as a key national priority.
To meet the target, NIMC has expanded its enrolment strategy beyond its local government offices by taking registration services directly to wards and communities across the country.
The NIMC boss said the commission is implementing the initiative in collaboration with private-sector enrolment partners under the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project.
According to her, the accredited partners are now conducting NIN registrations at the grassroots level, making the process more accessible, especially for residents in underserved and remote communities.
Coker-Odusote also stated that the recently amended NIMC Act now makes it mandatory for every Nigerian to obtain a National Identification Number, describing the NIN as the country’s foundational identity for accessing both government and private-sector services.
She expressed confidence that the commission would achieve the Federal Government’s enrolment target through the ongoing expansion of registration centres and its community-based registration drive.