The House of Representatives on Wednesday, February 7, mandated its committees on population and anti-corruption to investigate the delay in the release of National Identity Cards from 2012 to date.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
The committees are to invite the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, and the Director-General of the National Identity Card Management Commission, Abisoye Coker-Odusote.
The Committees are to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
This resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Need to Investigate the National Identity Cards Released from 2012 to Date” moved by Hon. Muhammed Dan Abba Shehu.
The House noted that the National Identity Card Management Commission (NIMC) as established by law is charged with the responsibility of collecting, managing, and controlling citizen data for effective economic planning and developmental growth, but the reverse is the case in Nigeria.
It said in 2015, the National Identity Management Commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) agreed to immediately implement the Presidential directive on harmonization and integration of Biometric Data capture by government parastatals.
The House said the directive aimed to improve biometric data collection and storage across government agencies, collaborating with NIMC and INEC for efficient voter registration and enhanced identity management.
The House also noted that in readiness for the 2015 general elections, the government made deliberate efforts to capture eligible voters through the National Identity Card, collaborating with INEC to achieve its core mandate for better electoral results and official usage, this strategy was not achieved, causing high expectations among citizens and the government.
The House said it was aware that Nigerians have shown resilience in assisting the government in obtaining accurate database information through the National Identity Card Management Commission, despite the government’s huge resources for speeding up the process and enhancing electoral transparency and accountability in 2015 and subsequent elections.
It worried that the Commission’s headquarters and its state counterparts are ineffective in delivering the national assignment to the people, particularly in releasing the National identity cards, due to government neglect of operational activities and directives for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The House was concerned that despite the availability of resources for rapid production and electoral transparency, Nigerians continue to encounter obstacles to updating the National Identity Card Management Commission’s database information due to a lack of attention from the government and ineffective service delivery.
The motion reads: “The House is worried that the Commission received annual budgetary allocations in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to fulfill its mandate, but efforts to produce and release national identity cards have been unsuccessful requiring urgent intervention and attention of the Federal government.
“The House is cognizant that government intervention in restructuring the Commission is necessary for effective service delivery, revitalizing the Commission’s operations and re-affirming the goal to provide accurate data and identification documents to the citizens thus restoring the confidence of the Nigerian populace.”
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