The World Bank has announced that it is reorganizing Nigeria’s Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative to ensure that the $430 million pledged by lenders is fully disbursed.
The restructuring, according to the Bank, was required because the co-financiers, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD), threatened to withhold their funding if the World Bank stopped being the project’s implementer after the project’s original closure date of June 30, 2024.
The project’s funding plan, approved by the International Development Association (IDA) in 2020, calls for the release of $100 million from AFD, $215 million from the EIB, and an additional $115 million from the IDA, an arm of the World Bank.
“If the World Bank is no longer the project’s primary financier and implementer, both co-financiers have stated that they will revoke their funding.”
“As such it is critical that the World Bank extend the closing date of the project to allow continuity across all co-financers and avoid any disruptions to good progress made so far and to safeguard the positive impact it has had on Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure,” the Bank said in the project’s document seen by The News Chronicles.
The project’s closure date has been extended to 2026
The Bank announced that the closure has been postponed to June 30, 2026, a two-year extension due to the project’s restructuring.
It stated that the project’s expansion was required to meet the growing demand for a reliable and inclusive digital ID system that will improve governance’s efficacy, efficiency, and transparency as well as the provision of public services and initiatives.
Apart from the enrollment aim, which called for Nigeria to issue 148 million NIN by June 2024, the project’s technical standards were not met.
The Bank reports that there have been setbacks in important efforts under Component 2 (Establishing a strong and inclusive foundational ID system) that were intended to improve the Nigeria Identity Management System’s (NIMS) resilience, security, and dependability.
“For example, the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which processes all biometric data (fingerprint and facial), is almost at full capacity as it currently holds 80 million records.”
According to the Bank, “Given that Nigeria’s population is currently 210 million, it is imperative that the ABIS capacity be extended to accommodate 250 million enrollments.”
It did point out, though, that the related system update process has started and should be finished by March 2025.
Focus change
The Bank announced significant modifications to the project’s focus, but they also noted that the restructuring will allow the initiative to adapt adjustments that reflect the most recent realities and goals of the Nigerian government.
A few activities would be discontinued as a result of the reorganized project, according to the Banking, which stated that due to time constraints, it is no longer feasible to launch some operations under subcomponent 2.
“In that context, and considering the limited time and resources available, it is proposed that the following activities be cancelled: (i) collaborating to build links with a digitized civil registration (ii) conducting and financing a capacity assessment and institutional mapping of National Population Commission (iii) creating a national civil registration database with interoperability with the NIMS and (iv) the development of new mechanisms for continuous digital birth registration with NIN generation.“
The Bank said, “The funds allotted to these initiatives will be used for the creation of a new national identity management system (NIMS).”
Furthermore, according to the Bank, indicators pertaining to the number of Nigerian government offices overseas that are capable of registering Nigerians for NINs will be eliminated because the government is currently giving priority to issuing NINs inside Nigeria in order to guarantee that the poor and vulnerable have access to services.
One payout requirement is still to be met
In a recent article, the News Chronicles stated that the Bank had paid out $45.5 million in total, or roughly 10.5% of the project’s overall cost.
To ensure the full distribution of project money, the World Bank stated that the nation still needs to fulfil one of the three requirements.
It stated that the first requirement had been satisfied with the passage of the data protection legislation and the creation of the Data Protection Commission in June 2023.
“Fulfilling this disbursement condition enabled access to finance from the two other project co-financiers (AFD and EIB). The National Identity Management System’s (NIMS) acceptance was the subject of the second disbursement condition. This need was satisfied in March 2024 as a result of NIMS upgrades.”
It stated, “The amendment of the NIMC Act to promote an inclusive and non-discriminatory legal and regulatory framework is one final disbursement condition which has not yet been met.”
The Bank did point out that, given that the adjustments have been written and are awaiting enactment by the National Assembly, great strides have been made towards meeting this need.
Things to note
In order to facilitate access to digital services, the ID4D project—which was approved by the IDA Board in 2020—aims to increase the number of Nigerians who have national ID numbers (NINs) issued by NIMC.
The project’s deadline was June 30, 2024, and its objectives included providing NINs to 148 million Nigerians by June 1, 2024, along with 65 million women and 50 million children under the age of sixteen. Restructuring is required as a result of targets being missed.
Increasing rural NIN enrollments, creating pro-poor services utilizing the ID system, and educating government employees about data protection and ID system best practices are some of the other objectives.
