President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure every Nigerian is enrolled in the national identity database before the end of 2026, according to the agency’s Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Coker-Odusote said the directive is part of the Federal Government’s push to build a comprehensive national identity system that will improve governance, planning and public service delivery.
“The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian,” she said.
According to her, NIMC is expanding enrolment through the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project by partnering with accredited private enrolment agents across the country.
She explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) remains a unique identifier that allows every individual to register only once.
Coker-Odusote also said Nigeria’s actual population remains uncertain, with estimates ranging from 200 million to 250 million, making a complete identity database essential for national planning.
“When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have,” she said, adding that the commission has been directed to take enrolment to communities nationwide.
Addressing concerns over multiple registrations, the NIMC boss said the commission’s biometric verification system prevents individuals from maintaining more than one identity.
She explained that while the legacy system detected duplicate records after registration, the current system identifies and invalidates duplicate enrolments using fingerprint and facial recognition technology.
Coker-Odusote added that the newly signed NIMC Act 2026 strengthens the commission’s authority over biometric identity management. Under the law, public and private organisations will validate identities through NIMC’s systems instead of creating separate biometric databases.
She noted that telecommunications companies already use the system to verify SIM registration in real time through biometric matching.
President Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 into law on June 26, replacing the 2007 legislation. The law reinforces the “One Person, One Identity” policy by making the NIN Nigeria’s primary identity credential for accessing key government and private sector services, including banking, passport applications, pensions, tax administration, land transactions and consumer credit.
The Act also introduces tougher penalties for identity theft, multiple registrations and unauthorised access to personal identity data while strengthening data privacy protections.
