NIMC: 104.16 million Nigerians registered for NIN
104.16 million Nigerians have been registered for NIN as of December 2023 according to the National Identity Management Commission. This is a 10.77 per cent increase from the 94.03 million before the end of 2023. This is an indication that only 10.13 million Nigerians registered for NIN in 2023. A monthly average of enrolments reveals that 844,167 Nigerians got NIN per month in 2023. Far from the federal government’s target of 2.5 million registrations per month. Also, the total number of NIN registrations in 2023 is low when compared with 21.33 million that registered in 2022. Speaking on the enrollment data in 2023, NIMC said, “NIMC’s enrolment figures as of December 31, 2023, currently stand at over 104.16 million unique records. The highest cumulative enrolment figure of over 11.4 million was recorded in Lagos State. Regional figures indicated an almost equal distribution across the North and South.”
Thus far, 530,345 Nigerians in the Diaspora have gotten NINs. 59.12 million male and 45.04 million female Nigerians now have NINs. The top five states of NIN enrolments include Lagos (11.43 million), Kano (9.19 million), Kaduna (6.45 million), Ogun (4.41 million), and Oyo (4.04 million). The bottom five states for enrolments in descending order are Taraba (1.49 million), Cross-River (1.19 million), Ekiti (1.03 million), Ebonyi (839,506), and Bayelsa (657,484). In its National Development Plan 2021-2025 plan, the Federal Government revealed its plan to enrol 100 million Nigerians in three years, with 2.5 million people monthly. It raised concerns that the paucity of data is a key challenge facing the country. It said, “The latest of these is the Nigerian Communications Commission linking SIM Registration Data to the National Identity Number Database. NIMC plans to register an additional 100 million people in three years and has embarked on a massive registration drive. The plan is to enrol 2.5 million people monthly for the next three years.”
In 2023, a new DG was appointed to head NIMC, and the acting director general/chief executive officer, of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, noted that there would be a seamless registration process for the National Identification Number in the country and the diaspora.
She said, “A unified identity system ensures that citizens receive the services they are entitled to more efficiently. Under my watch, NIMC will strengthen the operation and regulation of all matters related to national identity, which encompasses services such as NIN enrolment.” Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission directed bank account owners and telecommunication subscribers to ensure they have linked their bank accounts and SIMs with their NINs. In a separate public circular, the regulators of the banking and telecom space issued deadlines for compliance. The CBN said, “Ensure all operated accounts/wallets created through agents, are fully profiled in the NIBSS ICAD and tagged with valid and correct BVN and/or NIN.” The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, after getting a directive from the NCC, told the public, “All MSISDNs (SIMs) for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs, are to be barred on or before 28 February 2024. That where five or more MSISDNs are linked to an unverified NIN, such MSISDNs are to be barred on or before 29 March 2024.”
