By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday declared that Nigeria has crossed a major milestone in its national identity drive, with over 126 million citizens now enrolled in the National Identity Management Commission NIMC database.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator George Akume, the president made the declaration at the 7th National Identity Day Celebration in Abuja.
He described the achievement as “126 million stories of visibility, empowerment and inclusion”, stressing that digital identity is no longer a bureaucratic exercise but the foundation of citizenship, security, and opportunity in the 21st century.
“Identity is power, protection, and participation. Every individual counted is a step closer to a stronger nation,” the President said.
This year’s theme, “Public Key Infrastructure PKI: Backbone to Digital Public Infrastructure”:underscored the role of technology in securing the country’s digital transformation. PKI, a system that provides secure digital trust, is now being integrated across governance, banking, healthcare, education and national security systems.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who now supervises the Commission, said PKI will “make digital government services verifiable, auditable, and internationally credible.”
He noted that the federal government is aligning reforms in immigration, passport issuance, and border management with NIMC’s identity infrastructure to strengthen national security and global trust in Nigerian credentials.
Dr Tunji-Ojo added that Nigeria must treat identity infrastructure as “strategic national infrastructure”, aligning with global standards for interoperability and trust.
Both the President and the Minister commended Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, the Director-General of NIMC, for what they described as a historic turnaround of the agency in just over one year.
Coker-Odusote reported that over 2.5 million backlog records were cleared, while mobile/web self-service platforms processed over 500,000 record updates.
“More than 800 mobile enrolment devices were deployed nationwide. The national database was expanded to handle 250 million records, up from 100 million. Over 200 diaspora centres and ward-level enrolment via NYSC members were introduced”, she stated.
According to her, more than 449,000 students have accessed education loans worth N86.35 billion through the National Education Loan Fund NELFUND using their National Identification Numbers NIN.
She also highlighted how the NIN has been integrated with banking, SIM registration, agriculture subsidies, pensions, humanitarian aid and social investment schemes.
The NIMC boss broke down progress into three pillars: inclusion, protection and empowerment.
On inclusion, she said over 75% of inmates in correctional facilities are now enrolled; diaspora enrolment has improved by 52%; and integration with the National Population Commission is boosting birth registration.
She said NIMC has partnered with the Nigeria Police Cybercrime Centre to tackle identity fraud, while new security standards and PKI integration safeguard citizens’ data.
According to her, farmers, students and vulnerable groups are now directly benefiting from subsidies, loans and welfare programs tied to verified digital identity.
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