Nigeria to Build Comprehensive National Identity System by End of 2026: Media

🇳🇬 President Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to enroll every Nigerian into the national identity database by the end of 2026, the commission’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said.

1️⃣ One Person, One Identity
The National Identification Number (NIN) serves as a unique identifier “so that you’re only enrolled once,” she said.

🔍 Why NIN Matters
Coker-Odusote explains that this exercise will determine Nigeria’s actual population—currently estimated to be between 200 and 250 million—adding that this NIN is basically “the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have?”

📄 Better Duplicate Prevention
Unlike the old system that caught duplicates only after submission, the current biometric verification system—using fingerprints and facial recognition—stops multiple registrations in real time, she explained.