• As NIMC targets 124m by year end
By Chinenye Anuforo
The Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has disclosed that the National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment figure now stands at 104 million as at January 2024 up from 85.6 million that was recorded in July 2022. This is even as the Commission is targeting about 20 million additional NINs registration by the end of 2024.
The DG, who gave the figures at the management retreat of the commission in Lagos at the weekend, also charged NIMC’s Front End Enrollment Partners (FEPs) to ensure no one is left out of the NIN registration process.
According to Coker-Odusote, “Our mission at NIMC is clear: to equip each Nigerian and legal resident with a unique and secure National Identification Number (NIN). This number is the key to accessing critical services, social benefits, and economic prospects. However, in order to accomplish this, we must ensure the integrity of our enrollment process.
“As FEPs, your involvement is crucial. You are the link between our citizens and the NIMC enrollment ecosystem. As you communicate with candidates, treat their information with care, accuracy, and thoroughness. Let us work together to protect our database from errors, fraud, and other threats to its integrity. While we welcome the expansion of our National Identity Database to over 104 million captured NINs, and targeting additional 20 to 25 million NINs registration by the end of 2024, we cannot rest on our laurels. Millions more are waiting to be enrolled.
They include students, farmers, businesspeople, and the elderly. They are the heartbeat of our country.
“Let us reach out to all parts of Nigeria, from booming cities to isolated villages. Allow us to collaborate with schools, hospitals, and community leaders. Let us ensure that no one is left behind, including the vulnerable, people with disabilities, those living in remote locations, and so on. Let us make the NIN enrollment process accessible, fast, and inclusive.”
Continuing, Coker-Odusote entrusted the FEPs with professional behaviour and excellent communication, citing these as vital to success.
“When an applicant enters an enrollment centre, they put their trust in us. They are certain that their personal information will be kept confidential, that their NIN will be secure, and that it will open opportunities for them. We must honour that confidence.”
In her presentation on NIMC Ecosystem Enrollment, the Commission’s Director of Business Development and Commercial Services, Mrs. Carolyn Folami, told the FEPs that the revalidation effort was intended to sanitise the system while correcting identified gaps.She utilised the opportunity to announce the start of payment of the remaining arrears owing to the FEPs, assuring them of the commission’s commitment to settling the outstanding balance as soon as possible.
“So far, 96 FEPs have been revalidated. It is still under progress, and as more are revalidated, they will be onboarded. This month (February), we began paying the FEPs’ outstanding arrears in accordance with the DG/CEO’s earlier promise. We have now paid well over 15 companies and are attempting to clear the arrears. We’ve done some housekeeping. Currently, we are only working with Android smartphones”.