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Tag: National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)

  • Presidential aide commends NIMC DG’s transformation drive, seeks collaboration for digital innovation

    Presidential aide commends NIMC DG’s transformation drive, seeks collaboration for digital innovation

    In a strategic move that underscores Nigeria’s march toward a fully digital economy, a delegation from Softline Technologies and Services AB, Sweden, accompanied by a Special Assistant to the President, Mr Abiodun Yinusa, recently paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Abuja.

    The high-level visit, led by representatives of the Stockholm-based consultancy firm, provided an opportunity for an extensive engagement with the Director-General/CEO of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, whose ongoing reforms and leadership style have continued to draw widespread commendation from local and international stakeholders.

    Speaking during the visit, the delegation applauded the DG for the remarkable transformation agenda currently redefining national identity management in Nigeria.

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    They described the agency’s achievements under her stewardship, ranging from technological upgrades and improved data integrity systems to efficient service delivery models, as “a clear departure from past limitations and a strong signal that Nigeria is aligning with global best practices.”

    In her remarks, the Director-General of NIMC, Engr Coker-Odusote, expressed commitment to partnering with credible global technology institutions, saying the agency is open to collaborations that will strengthen its operations and accelerate innovation.

    She welcomed Softline Technologies’ interest, noting that such partnerships complement the Commission’s vision to deepen digital identity coverage, enhance back-end processes, and expand service offerings to millions of Nigerians at home and abroad.

  • NIMC approves FIC to participate in the ID4D Project

    NIMC approves FIC to participate in the ID4D Project

    The management of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has approved the participation of FIC Professionals Network Plc in the Identity for Development (ID4D) Ecosystem Enrolment Service.

    A recognised stakeholder owned organisation and key player in the financial inclusion ecosystem which recently partnered with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) to introduce the Agency Banking Certification (ABC) programme for those desirous to become Financial Inclusion experts, FIC was approved to participate in the programme after satisfying the set requirements.

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    The approval to participate was conveyed through a letter dated January 23, 2025, signed on behalf of the DG/ CEO of the Commission, Engr. (Mrs) Abisoye Coker-Odusote.

    The Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project represents a bold and ambitious initiative to establish a secure and verifiable digital identity for every Nigerian, thereby enhancing service delivery, improving governance, and unlocking opportunities for Nigerians in the digital economy.

    The potential of the Nigeria Digital ID4D Project to revolutionise identification and access to services is immense.

  • Charity must begin at home

    Ordinarily, it would have arrived as a most salutary piece of information, signalling a government agency hard at work. But alas, it has left many in sheer bewilderment.

    The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) recently announced that it has extended its service of capturing the identity of Nigerian citizens into its database to two foreign countries – United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK). According to Aliyu Aziz, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, “The extension is in line with the NIMC’s mandate to ensure that all Nigerian citizens in Nigeria and the diaspora and legal residents in Nigeria are enrolled into the National Identity Database and issued with the unique National Identification Number (NIN) to applicants upon successful enrolment.”

    The exercise, which would involve the demographic and biographic data capture of all Nigerian citizens residing in activated countries is in line with the Federal Government’s directive to make the possession of NIN a mandatory requirement for elections, banking transactions, acquisition and renewal of international passport, driver’s licence and ECOWAS travel document, to mention a few.

    Some Nigerian companies are said to have been licensed to work with partners across Africa, Europe, Asia and America for the purposes of diaspora registration and identity capture. Additional locations are to be rolled out by the NIMC across the world and announced from time to time.

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    As already noted, NIMC’s foray into foreign lands in search of Nigerian citizens is most laudable had the national identity card scheme not been mired in controversy and crippling inefficiency right from inception. The need to create a wholesale national identity card started in 1977 but several initiatives were defeated by graft, ineptitude and a lack of will by various governments. A most notable effort was made in 2003 when the directorate of National Civic Registration (DNCR) was created.

    Over 50 million Nigerians were registered in the scheme but at the end of the day, it was again mired in corruption and the card issued was a worthless piece of plastic which didn’t serve even the primary purposes of identification and prevention of identity fraud.

    It was not until 2010 when the NIMC was established that Nigeria switched to the computerised national identity card scheme. There is NIN for citizens, which is part of the national identity management system, and there is the General Multi-Purpose Card (GMPC). Every individual’s number carries his or her unique database which is borne in the identity card.

    Apart from the NIN, the new national identity card contains two photographs of the cardholder and a chip containing the biometric information of the card holder. The current card also has the features of a prepaid card which means it can be used as an ATM card.

    Though there is remarkable improvement in the current attempt to create an identification scheme for Nigerians, the execution has been wonky, to say the least. After about five years, just about 30 percent of Nigerians have been captured in the registration process which is roughly about 30 million people. But of this number, hardly about 10 million may have been issued the card. Many have been captured for a couple of years and issued the NIN on a piece of paper, yet they have no cards. For a country the size of Nigeria, there were just about 2,000 registration centres in Nigeria as at 2018.

    It is in the light of this awkward and lethargic manner of delivering the identity card scheme in Nigeria that people turn up their noses to the foray abroad by the NIMC. What is the hurry or overarching benefits even, rushing to capture Nigerians abroad while the process has been haphazard and inchoate at home?

    We dare say that the diaspora populace is a different kettle of fish entirely that must be handled with utmost caution. And we say: sort the home front out first!

     

  • NIMC begins Diaspora enrolment in South Africa

    THE National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) is to begin enrolment of Nigerian adults and children in South Africa into the National Identity Database (NIDB) for the issuance of the National Identification Number (NIN).

    The enrolment in South Africa is in collaboration with its licensed partner, Messrs Thebez Global Resources Limited (TGR). The company is in the business of providing similar services in partnership with other similar companies in the Diaspora.

    TGR is working in collaboration with Cox & Kings Global Services Limited (CKGS), a premium outsourcing partner for government and businesses across the globe, to enrol Nigerians in Diaspora by setting up enrolment centres in different countries.

    CKGS’ comprehensive range of services include consular services, identity management solutions, document processing services and an extensive suite of technology-enabled business process accelerators.

    The South Africa NIN enrolment centre, located at 205 Rivonia Road, Morningside, Sandton, Johannesburg 2057, will open for enrolment from tomorrow and  appointments can be made via the TGR website, nin.thebezglobalresource.com as from  tomorrow.

    It is expected that other countries will come onboard on TGR ‘s platform after the South African pilot experience.

    NIMC Director General/CEO ,  Aliyu Aziz, said the Diaspora exercise is in a bid to ensure that Nigerians living outside the country are not left out.

    According to him, six Nigerian companies have been licensed to  work with their respective partners across  all countries in Africa, Asia, Europe  and America to carry out the enrolment of Nigerian adults and children in the Diaspora into the National Identity Database (NIDB).

    “They will be issued with the National Identification Number (NIN) upon enrolment and subsequently the General Multipurpose Card (GMPC),” he said.

    He also assured that requisite standard guidelines and regulations have been put in place to ensure the effective implementation of the National Identity Management Systems (NIMS) as well as provide the right platform for providing digital identity for Nigerians and legal residents as well as Nigerians in Diaspora.

  • Oyinlola resigns as NIMC Chairman

    A former governor of Osun, Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has resigned his appointment as the Chairman of National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ).

    Oyinlola, in a resignation letter dated May 9, and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, said he resigned his appointment to attend to a greater political engagement.

    The letter, which was signed by Oyinlola in Osogbo on Thursday reads:

    “Sir, I write to resign my appointment as the chairman of National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) with effect from today, 9th May, 2018.

    “Your Excellency, I must put on record my very deep sense of appreciation for the special privilege and consideration you gave me to serve our fatherland in that capacity.

    “As I stated in my appreciation letter to you shortly after the appointment, the offer was a clear call to service.

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    “I gave the job the dedication it deserved and would have loved to continue but I regret to inform Your Excellency that I have a new, greater political engagement that will make that difficult and even impolitic.

    “Sir, as one of my bosses in the army, I believe you would understand my stand given recent political developments.

    “The training I got as a decorated officer and gentleman precluded me from engaging in any act that could amount to disloyalty and conflict of interest.

    “I am moving on to chart a new course in my politics outside the ruling party and this thus, demands my dropping the NIMC chairmanship.

    “I thank you, sir, once again for the great honour and confidence reposed in me.

    “However, there is time to take a job and another time to leave it and move on.

    “For me, the time to work on something else in the interest and service of our people is now.

    “I wish Your Excellency goodluck while praying that you will finish well and strong in the service of our country.

    News men reports that Oyinlola was appointed as NIMC Chairman by President Buhari on September 2017.

    NAN

  • International Identity Day: ID4Africa, NIMC, others to petition UN

    The ID4Africa, National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) and other international organisations have decided to petition the United Nations ( UN ) to declare September 16 of every year as International Identity Day celebration.

    Dr Joseph Atick, the Executive Chairman, ID4Africa Movement, made the disclosure on Monday at a news briefing to commence the 4th annual meeting of the organisation in Abuja.

    The ID4Africa is a multi-stakeholder movement that promotes the transparent and responsible adoption of digital identity in the service of development in Africa.

    The 2018 ID4Africa Conference is scheduled from April 24 to April 26 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

    Atick, who said that the petition would be launched on April 24 at the opening session of the conference, added that the campaign would be taken to New York until the success would be achieved.

    According to him, the petition is calling on the United Nations to recognise September 16 of every year as International Identity Day.

    “I want to make an announcement that it is going to be launched; another first African announcement which we will start here in Africa on April 24.

    “We will continue all the way to New York until we reach a successful end. The announcement is that we will be launching a petition tomorrow; a petition to the United Nations.

    “This petition is supported by the General Secretariat of the ID4Africa, the board of advisers of ID4Africa which has membership or representatives of the World Bank, UNDP, Centre for Growth and Development and of course NIMC, among others.

    “Together, we are launching a petition and the petition is that we are calling on the United Nations to recognise September 16 as International Identity Day,” he said.

    Explaining why September 16 should be declared as the day, Atick said the organisation adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals and that number 16.9 of the SDGs pushed for legal identity for all by 2030.

    “We have worked for many years together to establish what I called the Sustainable Development Goals. So government has responsibility by the year 2030 to give everybody in the country legal identity.

    “We want a day because identity is one of the most important aspects of human experience in a modern society.

    “We want to celebrate it, we want to create awareness for it, we also want to measure our progress towards the ultimate goal.

    “Once we get the United Nations declaring that as international day, different countries diversify it and observe it with different activities. So April 24, it is going to start in Abuja,” he said.

    Atick, who expressed optimism that 193 nations of the UN would vote in its support, said about 47 African nations would be attending the conference.

    The Director-General of NIMC, Mr Aliyu Aziz, however, said this year’s conference is tagged: “Harmonisation,” adding that it aimed at addressing issues of duplication of data by different agencies of government.

    He said the conference would be dealing on how to develop artificial intelligence, how to utilise it and how to get market intelligence in improving, especially agriculture.

    The Chairman Board of Director of NIMC, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, said the news briefing was to acquaint everyone with the conduct of the conference on ID4Africa.

    He described the organisation as a movement of countries within the continent that have come to the understanding of leveraging ID ecosystem on digital system.

    NAN

  • NIMC advises Nigerians to obtain national identification numbers

    NIMC advises Nigerians to obtain national identification numbers

    Mr Aliyu Aziz, the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ), has advised Nigerians and other residents in the country, to get their National Identification Numbers ( NINs ).

    Aziz said in a statement on Friday in Lagos that Nigerians should regard the NIN as a most crucial feature of their lives, since it was the unique identifier for all in the country.

    He said that Nigerians should regard the NIN the same way Social Security Number was regarded in the United States, the National Insurance Number in the United Kingdom or AADHAR number in India.

    According to him, what is common in all the countries mentioned is just the number.

    “Therefore, you need a unique NIN from cradle to grave,” he said.

    The NIMC boss advised Nigerians and residents in the country to present themselves to be enrolled for NIN to avoid any rush.

    He said that rush might arise with the enforcement of the mandatory use of NIN for transactions and access to services, as stipulated in Section 27 of the NIMC Act of 2007.

    “By law and along the entire lifecycle of individuals in Nigeria, you need to present your NIN, whenever you need to be identified for services such as passport issuance.

    “You will need to present NIN during banking services, land transactions, insurance services, pension, health insurance, payment of taxes, voter’s registration, consumer credits and all government services.

    “In all these, there is nothing temporary about the NIN slip issued after registration, the NIN is your identity and is considered more important than the card.

    “NIMC’s current focus is on the number – NIN, and not the card.

    “We are already in a digital economy driven by unique index numbers and not by physical tokens such as a card.

    “The law specifies that we should issue general multipurpose smart cards as the exercise continues,’’ he said.

    Aziz said the commission was mindful of the demands of the public for the physical cards and efforts were being made to meet them.

    The NIMC director general said however that provision of the physical cards had huge financial implication for the nation.

    According to him, the number of people with their NINs is 23.3 million, an increase from seven million in November 2015, when he took over the mantle of leadership in NIMC.

    “So, please enroll for the NIN, encourage everyone you know to do same, including children and legal residents.

    “This is necessary as all other government agencies will follow soon and make their respective announcements on the mandatory use of the NIN,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • NIMC captures 300,000 in Niger – Official

    NIMC captures 300,000 in Niger – Official

    The National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) in Niger says out of the state’s population of about five million only about 300,000 residents have been captured in the ongoing civil registration.

    Mrs Mary Makama, Coordinator of the commission in Niger, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Minna.

    She appealed to the state government to support the exercise by opening NIMC offices in the 11 local government areas where the exercise was yet to commence.

    The coordinator regretted that out of the 25 local governments in the state, only 14 had NIMC functional offices.

    “The headquarters had provided all the working facilities required for the exercise, but we still do not have office accommodation in 11 local governments,” she said.

    She identified power failure in the 14 local government areas functional offices as the major problem hindering smooth conduct of the exercise.

    She also called for the support of stakeholders, traditional and religious leaders in mobilising residents to come forward and registered.

    The coordinator said that already the commission had commenced registration of children under-16 years.

    “We have introduced various devices to enable us detect illegal aliens seeking to be registered,” she said.

    Makama urged Niger residents, who had not been registered, to take advantage of the ongoing registration to do so in their own interest.

  • NIMC cautions against street registration

    NIMC cautions against street registration

    The National Identity Management Commission ( NIMC ) on Tuesday, cautioned Nigerians against illegal registration on the streets for the National Identity Card.

    Mr Tayo Adeniyi, Lagos State Coordinator told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, that those carrying out such registration on the streets on our behalf are not officials of the commission.

    Adeniyi said that NIMC has created nearly 44 centres to facilitate registration and collection of the national identity cards across the state.

    He added that the centers were spread across the entire local governments and the Local Council Development Areas (LCDA’s) in the state.

    “The people you see outside are not our staff; they are running their own business centres. The only thing we go against is when we see our logo in the centre.

    “we will alert the security agents, and the Department of State Services (DSS) to effect their arrests because they have been labeling us that they are our agents.

    “We have 44 registering centre across Lagos State; I do not know why people still patronise street agents.

    “Registration is free, collection of name is free, collection of identity card is also free,’’Adeniyi said.

    The coordinator said that the registration could also be done through the internet.

    He advised applicants to bring the print out for confirmation and capturing.

    He also urged the public to go to centres closed to them and register.

    “We have a website that can be used to register people; if you come with your slip, we will check and retract your data, and then take your biometrics.

  • FG makes NIN mandatory for passport issuance from 2018

    FG makes NIN mandatory for passport issuance from 2018

    The Federal Government Tuesday said that with effect from January 2018, Nigerians seeking for International Passport must be holders of the electronic National Identity Card which has the National Identity Number (NIN).

    This was disclosed by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Mohammed Babadede while speaking with State House correspondents after a meeting of the National Identity Management Harmonization committee at the State House, Abuja.

    The Federal Government in 2014 had ordered all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and security organizations involved in all forms of biometric data capture of Nigerians to complete their registrations and handover to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

    Tuesday’s meeting of the committee was in continuation of the efforts to achieve the harmonization process.

    Babadede explained that as a result of the decision every citizen must possess the National Identity Number as a condition to apply for the Nigerian passport.

    He said “we have agreed that from 1st January 2018, anybody who is going to apply for the Nigerian Passport, whether renewal or fresh, must first have a national identity number. Why we are doing this is we want to ease business for Nigerians.

    “There is no need for you to go and have your bio metric captured by NIMC and then you come and capture again with the Nigeria Immigration. Once you give us your NIN number we will collect the bio metric from NIMC and produce your passport. That is the intention to do in all other agencies,” he said.

    Babadede said foreigners residing in Nigeria were not exempted, as they will also require number when renewing their residence permit.

    “I have also given directive that any foreigner, non-Nigerian resident in Nigeria will not get his permit renewed. He or she will not get his renewal until he has a NIN. To achieve this, NIMC NIN and passport numbers will be harmonized and we are committed to allow NIMC in Immigration. All NIMC staff can work in our passport offices.

    “So when you come to get the passport you can also get the National identity card. The NIM-C has also allowed immigration staff to work in their offices so anybody who is coming to claim Nigerian citizenship; they will help to identify that citizen. That is the cooperation that we have had so far,” the immigration boss said

    Meanwhile, the National Identity Management and Harmonization Committee declared that a lot of progress has been made towards achieving a single data for all citizens of the country.

    Senior Special Assistant to the President on Information Communication Technology ICT, Mr Lanre Osibona said the meeting of the committee was to move forward in achieving additional feat in the harmonization process.

    He said “we just had a good meeting in terms of national identity which we know is a great asset for the country and so much work has been ongoing with respect to harmonizing all the silo data bases. We are making progress finally,”

    The Presidential aide, who listed some of the benefits of a harmonized data, also said the country is receiving a lot of support from some international agencies.

    “The benefits of national identity are immense, security, innovation, social inclusion, financial inclusion. This concerns our citizens and it helps in forecasting budget, better planning. So we are determined to ensure that we deliver full concise database for all Nigerians.

    “It is good to also share with you that when we came in about two years ago there were five million records of NIM-C but today we have moved it close to 20 million and we intend to have up to 30 million by the end of this year. We are working with the World Bank and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to have a proper approach of how we will be able to capture over 180 million over a three year period,” he said.

    Mr. Lanre noted that Nigeria has captured the Public Key Infrastructure PKI, which will sit within the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA.

    “An intention of this is to allow for digital signing of key documents being able to authenticate our document digitally,” he said.