Since 2020, Nigeria has been populating its identity database. A policy by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) mandated all telecom subscribers in the country to link their SIM cards with their National Identification Numbers (NIN).
The move has seen the NIN database grow significantly in the last two years, as subscribers who do not already have NIN had to enrol to be able to use telecom services.
According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), enrolments for the NIN rose to 90.68 million as of October 25, 2022. This shows that the country has recorded 17.98 million fresh enrolments in 2022 alone. As of last year, the enrolment figure stood at 72.7 million.
As you may well know, population distribution varies across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. And this influences the number of subscriptions for telecom services per state. With the condition that all telecom subscribers must have NIN, it is not surprising that states with the largest number of telecom subscribers are dominating the NIN enrolment database.
These are the top 10 states with the highest NIN enrolments as of October. This is also a reflection of their mobile subscriptions.
10. Bauchi (2.3 million)
According to the latest NIMC data, the North-Eastern state of Bauchi is one of the leading states with the highest number of NIN enrolments. Bauchi State recorded 2.3 million total enrolments as of October this year to emerge as number 10 on the list. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the state had a total of 4.2 million active mobile subscriptions as of Q2 2022.
9. Delta (2.4 million)
Delta State is number 9 on the list with a total of 2.4 million as of October. In Q2 2022. The state’s total active mobile subscriptions stood at 7.3 million, according to NBS data.
8. Rivers (2.7 million)
From the October data, Rivers State was number 8 on the list of states with the highest NIN enrolment figures. The state had 2.7 million people enrolled in the database. This is also a reflection of the state’s mobile penetration as it had 7.3 million active mobile subscriptions at the end of June this year.
7. Katsina (3.1 million)
The home State of President Muhammadu Buhari, Katsina, came 4th having recorded 3.1 million NIN enrolments as of October 25. Active mobile subscriptions in the State stood at 5.3 million in Q2 2022 according to NBS data.
6. FCT Abuja (3.2 million)
According to the NIMC data, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja was among the top 10 states in terms of NIN enrolments. Abuja had recorded a total of 3.2 million enrolments as of last month and stood at number 6. NBS data shows that active mobile subscriptions in Abuja stood at 9.7 million as of Q2 2022.
5. Oyo (3.6 million)
A total of 3.6 million residents of Oyo State had registered for the NIN as of last month. The State sat on the 5th position among the top 10 with a 3.6 million enrolment figure. Going by NBS data, the State is also one of the states with a large number of mobile users. Its active subscriptions stood at 10.8 million as of Q2.
4. Ogun (3.7 million)
The South-Western State of Ogun had the 4th highest number of NIN enrolments as of October with a 3.7 million record. In terms of mobile subscriptions, Ogun is also on a higher level compared to other states in the country. NBS data shows that the State had 12.3 million active mobile subscriptions in Q2 this year.
3. Kaduna (5.4 million)
Kaduna is one of the most populated states in Nigeria. The state’s population is also reflected in the number of NIN enrolments. The state has recorded a total of 5.4 million registrations for the identification number. Interestingly, active mobile subscriptions were lower than those of Ogun and Oyo which occupied 4th and 5th positions in terms of NIN enrolments. According to NBS, Kaduna’s mobile subscriptions stood at 8.7 million in Q2.
2. Kano (7.9 million)
Kano State is one of the most populated states in Nigeria and it is, therefore, not surprising that the State has one of the highest numbers of enrolments for NIN. As of October, enrolments in the State stood at 7.9 million. In terms of mobile subscriptions, the State had a record of 12.5 million as of Q2, 2022.
1. Lagos (10.2 million)
The commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, Lagos, maintained its lead in terms of the number of NIN enrolments in the country. With 10.2 million registrations as of October 2022, Lagos was number one on the table. The State’s mobile subscriptions stood at 25 million as of Q2, the highest by any state in Nigeria.
The Lagos state enrolment centre is just bunches of corrupt people’s because if you want to register NIN you must pay 3000 naira and if you need your I’D card to come out you must pay 10,000 naira or else your ID card will remain there in the office