BREAKING: Tinubu Orders NIMC to Enrol All Nigerians, Sets Deadline

• President Bola Tinubu has directed NIMC to enrol all Nigerian into the national identity database before the end of 2026.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that every Nigerian is enrolled in the country’s national identity database before the end of 2026.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, describing the directive as part of the Federal Government’s effort to strengthen governance, national planning and 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 Coker-Odusote, NIMC is partnering with private enrolment agents under the World Bank-supported Identification for Development (ID4D) project to speed up the nationwide registration exercise.

She explained that the National Identification Number (NIN) serves as a unique identity, ensuring that every Nigerian is enrolled only once.

“That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once,” she added.

The NIMC boss also said the nationwide enrolment would help the government determine Nigeria’s actual population, noting that current estimates range between 200 million and 250 million people.

“When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have… Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery,” she said.

Addressing concerns over multiple registrations, Coker-Odusote explained that NIMC’s biometric verification system, which uses fingerprints and facial recognition, prevents individuals from obtaining more than one identity.

She added that telecom operators already verify facial biometrics against the NIMC database before issuing SIM cards, while the newly signed NIMC Act 2026 further strengthens the government’s “One Person, One Identity” policy.

The law makes the National Identification Number the country’s foundational identity credential for accessing essential public and private services, including banking, passport applications, tax administration, pensions, land transactions and consumer credit.