By Nathaniel Irobi
The Federal Government has commenced a nationwide ward-by-ward digital identity enrolment campaign across Nigeria’s 8,809 political wards, as part of intensified efforts to achieve universal coverage and ensure that no citizen is excluded from government programmes and services.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team on a courtesy visit.
The Minister said the enrolment drive is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to take identity registration to the grassroots, particularly to rural communities, women, children, persons with disabilities, refugees, legal residents, and Nigerians in the diaspora.
“President Tinubu gave NIMC marching orders to commence the ward enrolment exercise because he wanted the people in the rural areas and at the community level not to be disenfranchised from any government intervention programme,” the Minister stated.
He noted that while the Commission has made significant progress with over 136 million Nigerians and legal residents already captured in the National Identity Database, approximately 100 million citizens remain unregistered and equally deserve to be included in national planning.
“Identity management is at the heart of the reform agenda of Mr. President, because if you are reforming, you have to know who you are reforming for. If you don’t know the number of people that you have and the demography and what they represent, how do you plan for them?” the Minister queried.
To achieve universal coverage, Minister Idris urged NIMC to deepen its collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), which has presence in all 774 Local Government Areas and is well-positioned to drive public enlightenment and sensitisation at the grassroots level.
“The National Orientation Agency is your best bet for reaching the grassroots. Please deepen your collaboration with NOA so that together we can ensure every Nigerian understands the importance of identity management,” he said.
He further assured the Commission of full support from all public communication platforms under the Ministry, including the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), to amplify nationwide sensitisation on the benefits of digital identity.
“I am happy to hear that you have not had a single data breach. Data privacy, transparency and public confidence are essential to the success of digital identity management, and we will continue to make all the communication platforms under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation available to support your public enlightenment efforts,” the Minister added.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, reaffirmed the Agency’s readiness to support the enrolment campaign through its extensive grassroots network.
“We know we’ve been working together, but I hope you will be coming forward so we can see how we can assist you, because we are present in those areas where you want to go and carry out public enlightenment and sensitisation,” Issa-Onilu said.
He added that the Agency would continue to work closely with NIMC to ensure that citizens in rural and underserved communities understand the importance of obtaining a National Identification Number (NIN).
Responding, the NIMC Director-General, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026 has modernised Nigeria’s identity management framework by incorporating provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure, and digital trust, while positioning NIMC as the country’s foundational digital identity authority.
She disclosed that the Commission has successfully integrated with more than 250 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and introduced digital innovations that have significantly improved service delivery and reduced enrolment time for Nigerians.
Presenting highlights of the new legislation, the Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, described the Act as a landmark reform that fundamentally redefines Nigeria’s identity management architecture.
“NIMC has evolved from a database custodian to Nigeria’s foundational identity authority. NIMC is now the only authorised commission for digital identity management in Nigeria,” Dr. Adegoke stated.
He explained that the legislation establishes the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), stronger data privacy protections, and wider application of the National Identification Number across government and private sector services.
The courtesy visit was attended by the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu; the Director of Production, Publication and Documentation, Mr. Ibidapo Okunnu; the Deputy Director of Public Relations and Protocol, Ms. Fatoke Folasade; alongside other senior management staff of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and officials of the National Identity Management Commission.
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