President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission to intensify the registration of Nigerians and legal residents with a view to achieving 95 per cent National Identification Number coverage by December 2026.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NBBSPIDEL.png")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
Tinubu gave the directive in his keynote address at the 2026 National Identity Day celebration organised by NIMC at the State House in Abuja, where he was represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The President said NIN enrolment had risen to about 142 million, compared with a little over 80 million people captured in the National Identity Database when his administration assumed office.
The latest figure represents a further expansion from the more than 126 million enrolments officially reported at the 2025 National Identity Day. In July 2026, NIMC Director-General Abisoye Coker-Odusote had also disclosed that the President directed the commission to accelerate enrolment before the end of the year.
Tinubu commended NIMC for the progress recorded but said the commission must intensify ward-level enrolment, mobile registration and the deployment of licensed enrolment agents to reach people who are still outside the national identity database.
The President said the objective goes beyond merely increasing the number of NIN holders, stressing that Nigeria needs an identity infrastructure capable of supporting public services, economic activities, security and the country’s wider digital transformation.
“We must build an identity system that is continuously useful, secure and responsive to the needs of Nigerians,” he said.
Tinubu said the government was laying the foundation for integrated digital services covering areas such as electronic health records, transport systems and a harmonised national data architecture.
He, however, stressed that the expansion of digital identity must be accompanied by adequate safeguards for citizens’ privacy, rights and dignity.
“We must do this while protecting the rights, privacy and dignity of our citizens. The digital state must never become a state without accountability,” the President said.
“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.”
The policy drive comes against the backdrop of the NIMC Act 2026, which Tinubu signed into law in June. The Presidency said the legislation strengthens the legal framework for identity management, reinforces the NIN as the foundation for identity verification and is intended to improve interoperability between government institutions.
Tinubu urged Nigerians who have yet to obtain their NIN to register, describing the number as an increasingly important connection between individuals and the modern Nigerian state.
He also described the theme of the 2026 National Identity Day — “Nigeria’s Digital Public Ecosystem: Powering Africa’s Digital Economy” — as significant to the country’s technological ambitions.
“Nigeria’s digital ecosystem must power Nigeria’s digital economy — and Nigeria’s digital economy must help power Africa’s,” he said.
According to the President, the national identity programme is also generating jobs through the expansion of the NIMC ecosystem.
He said more than 173 private companies, 30 state governments and 14 public-sector institutions had been approved as licensed enrolment agents, creating opportunities for enrolment officers, supervisors, data professionals, technology specialists and other support workers.
“This is a digital infrastructure creating real economic opportunity,” Tinubu said.
The President also linked the expansion of a reliable national identity database to national security, describing a secure identity system as indispensable to the country.
“A secure identity system is indispensable to a secure nation,” he said.
He explained that improved identity verification and responsible information-sharing among government agencies could strengthen efforts against identity fraud, financial crimes and other security threats.
Tinubu cited cooperation involving NIMC, the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as an example of the benefits of connected government databases.
The Federal Government has increasingly placed NIN at the centre of identity verification and service delivery. When Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026, the government said the framework was designed to improve inter-agency collaboration and strengthen the capacity to combat identity theft, terrorism and financial crimes.
Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, at the event, commended Coker-Odusote for what he described as strong leadership and progress at the commission.
Tunji-Ojo, however, said the government expected NIMC to do more by making identity services easier and more accessible to Nigerians, including those in the diaspora.
“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, more in including a stronger foundation for Nigeria’s digital economy, digital governance and long-term national development,” the minister said.
Coker-Odusote, in her remarks, attributed the expansion of the database to reforms and support from the Presidency and the Ministry of Interior.
“Our reach tells its own story. Enrolments have grown from less than 100 million to over 142 million Nigerians and legal residents,” she said.
She identified the ward-to-ward enrolment initiative as one of the major drivers of the growth, saying registration personnel had been deployed across the country’s 8,809 wards, with National Youth Service Corps members also mobilised as enrolment officers alongside private front-end partners.
The initiative, she said, was designed particularly to reach communities that had previously never hosted a NIN enrolment desk.
Coker-Odusote also highlighted the commission’s Self-Service Modification Platform, saying it had processed close to two million record updates.
According to her, services that previously required extended visits and delays can now, in appropriate cases, be completed through a citizen’s phone within 24 to 48 hours.
The government’s push for wider enrolment builds on earlier efforts to decentralise registration. NIMC has used ward-level enrolment and private-sector partners to reach underserved locations, while its identity reforms have increasingly linked the NIN to public and private services.
The 2026 National Identity Day event was also attended by the representative of Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; Minister of Interior Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa; and other government officials and stakeholders.
The book also examines Nigeria's legal ecosystem, focusing on the LPELR and NBA AI Guidelines. As a bonus, every purchase comes with a FREE eBook titled: How to Use the AI Features in LegalPedia and LawPavilion.
Ohio Books Ltd praises the publication, stating:
"....this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic."
How to Order:
📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878
📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com
🌎 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
_______________________________________________________________________
“Enhance Legal Practice With Authoritative Reports” — Alexander Payne Offers Comprehensive Law Reports, Spanning Over A Century Of Nigerian Jurisprudence
Interested buyers are encouraged to place their orders and enquiries via:
0704 444 4777, 0704 444 4999, 0818 199 9888
Website: www.alexandernigeria.com
