WorldStage– President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure will help in supporting digital commerce, financial services, healthcare, education, social protection and cross-border transactions.
Tinubu said this in his keynote address at the 8th National Day of Identity held on Wednesday in Abuja with the theme, ”Nigeria’s Digital Public Ecosystem: Powering Africa’s Digital Economy”.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President said that trusted identity was very important to the development of the country.
According to him, every citizen counts and should be recognised, protected and served by the nation.
He said the NIMC Act 2026, which repealed the 2007 Act, had provided a stronger legal framework for identity management, including protection of personal data and stronger measures against identity offences.
Tinubu also noted that digital identity had gone beyond having a document or number, saying it was now part of the digital foundation needed for a modern Nigeria and its development.
Earlier, NIMC Director-General/CEO, Mrs Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the commission had carried out major reforms since she assumed office in August 2023.
Coker-Odusote said that the most significant institutional milestone was the transformation of Nigeria’s identity ecosystem; the enactment of the NIMC Act 2026.
She explained that the new Act designated NIMC as the root certificate authority for public key infrastructure and digital public infrastructure, while also strengthening the commission’s regulatory powers.
She said the commission’s five-point agenda included increasing enrolment, harmonising identity data, issuance of the national e-ID card, identity-enabled financial inclusion and establishing NIN as the foundational national identifier.
Also speaking, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the progress recorded by NIMC showed the importance of a trusted digital identity to the country’s digital development.
”Identity is more than a means of establishing who we are. In today’s digital age, a trusted and inclusive digital identity is a fundamental enabler,” Shettima said.
He also said that the government was working toward a secure and inclusive digital public infrastructure, adding that no Nigerian should be left behind because of location, income, disability or lack of technology.
Similarly, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, described NIMC as one of the administration’s clearest delivery stories particularly with the increase in enrolment and integration with other sectors.
Akume commended the management of NIMC and said the government would continue to support the commission.
He added that the office of the SSG would continue to support the commission to remove obstacles and improve inter-agency coordination.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said identity was important to education reforms, especially in identifying learners, teachers and institutions as well as addressing the problem of out-of-school children.
”We cannot effectively implement education reforms if we do not know our learners,” Alausa said, while urging NIMC to expand enrolment among the estimated 75 million to 80 million school-going population.
Identity database had surpassed 141 million records as at on Tuesday, while enrolment access had increased to more than 8,000 centres across the country according to the commission’s records.
The commission also said about 32,000 trained and certified agents were supporting enrolment, while its Ward-Level Enrolment Initiative had reached 6,720.
The commission also recorded about 10 million enrolments in six months, while the capacity of the National Identity Database also been expanded from 100 million to 250 million records.
