WorldStage– Nigeria’s National Population Commission (NPC) has said that Nigerians can now register births and obtain certificates online through its newly introduced digital registration platform, eliminating the need for physical visits in many cases.
The Acting Director-General of the commission, Mr Manasseh Aboho, said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a media conference on the inauguration of the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system and the VitalReg platform.
Aboho said that the platform enabled Nigerians at home and abroad to complete birth registration and obtain certificates online, while physical registration centres had been retained nationwide for those without internet access.
He described the initiative as a major reform following years of development, pilot implementation and testing, adding that the commission was confident of the system’s sustainability.
According to him, the commission’s database will serve as Nigeria’s foundational identity database, enabling authorised institutions to access verified information securely through interoperability while maintaining strict data protection standards.
Aboho urged parents to register their children early, describing birth registration as a fundamental right that gave children access to essential services, including school enrolment.
Also speaking, Dr Eyitayo Oyetunji, Federal Commissioner representing Oyo State and Director of Vital Registration, said birth registration for children aged zero to five years and death registration within the prescribed period remained free.
He urged Nigerians to register births and deaths promptly, saying timely registration provided critical population data needed for government planning and effective service delivery.
The Team Lead of Barnksforte Technology Limited, Mr Dayo Bankole, said the platform was developed over two years to provide a secure and sustainable identity management system.
Bankole said every digitally registered newborn would automatically receive a National Identification Number (NIN), while the system would strengthen data sharing among authorised agencies and help combat child trafficking through verified identity linkage.
He added that the platform would automatically deactivate the NINs of deceased persons once their deaths were registered, reducing identity theft and financial fraud and supporting the update of the voter register.
According to him, the system is certified by the National Data Protection Commission and complies with International Organisation for Standardisation security standards to safeguard citizens’ data.
The Federal Government commenced nationwide implementation of the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system and the VitalReg platform on July 1.The initiative replaces the manual registration process with a fully digital system.
