President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the Federal Government is targeting 95 percent National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment coverage across Nigeria by December 2026.
Tinubu stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during the 8th National Identity Day celebration. He was represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The President said the government was developing digital infrastructure to make the national identity system a driver of economic growth and digital transformation.
He said a reliable identity system would support digital commerce, financial services, social protection, healthcare, education and mobility.
“Nigeria’s digital ecosystem must power Nigeria’s digital economy and Nigeria’s digital economy must help power Africa’s economy. Our identity infrastructure will be a critical component of this ambition,” Tinubu said.
He also said the government was accelerating the development of a Sovereign Public Key Infrastructure as part of its Digital Public Infrastructure architecture.
According to him, the system would support secure digital signatures, electronic documents, encrypted transactions and government communications.
Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said identity management was central to economic growth, national security and social inclusion.
He urged the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to expand NIN enrolment services for Nigerians abroad and accelerate the development of trusted digital identity systems.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa said NIN was becoming increasingly important in education planning and administration.
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He said the Ministry of Education was deploying NIN through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative to strengthen its database covering more than 75 million students.
Earlier, NIMC Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the national identity database had grown from about 80 million NINs at the beginning of the administration to nearly 140 million.
She said NIMC had trained more than 5,000 enrolment agents and launched ward-level enrolment services to improve access across the country.
The NIMC boss added that NIN had served as the Tax ID for individuals since January 1, 2026.
