President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every Nigerian is enrolled in the national identity database before the end of 2026, according to the agency’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Abisoye Coker-Odusote.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Coker-Odusote said the directive is part of the Federal Government’s drive to build a comprehensive national identity system to improve governance, planning and service delivery.
She disclosed that NIMC is working with private enrolment partners under the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project to speed up nationwide registration.
According to her, the National Identification Number (NIN) remains a unique identifier, ensuring that every Nigerian is enrolled only once.
Identity Database to Determine Actual Population
Coker-Odusote said Nigeria’s exact population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a complete national identity register critical for accurate planning.
She noted that the ongoing enrolment exercise will provide the government with reliable population data needed for effective policy formulation and service delivery.
Biometric System Prevents Multiple Registrations
The NIMC boss explained that the commission’s biometric verification system prevents individuals from obtaining multiple identities.
She said while the previous system detected duplicate registrations only after enrolment, the upgraded system uses fingerprint and facial recognition to identify existing records and invalidate duplicate registrations automatically.
According to her, under the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026, both public and private organisations will no longer maintain separate biometric databases but will instead verify identities through API integration with NIMC.
She cited telecommunications companies as an example, explaining that SIM registration now involves real-time facial biometric verification against the NIMC database.
The directive follows President Tinubu’s signing of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 into law on June 26, reinforcing the “One Person, One Identity” policy.
The legislation makes the National Identification Number (NIN) the country’s primary identity credential for accessing key public and private services, including banking, passport applications, taxation, pensions, land transactions and consumer credit, while also introducing tougher penalties for identity theft, multiple registrations and unauthorised access to personal data.