The Director-General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mrs. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, has said that the Commission has been able to reduce extortion and corruption in the process of enrolling for the National Identification Number (NIN) by at least 40%.
Coker-Odusote, disclosed during a media briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, where she announced that the Commission has successfully enrolled 120 million Nigerians into the NIN database since the inception of the project.
“We have reduced incidents of extortion and corruption by at least 40%. While the process is ongoing, we’ve made significant progress,” the DG said.
Boost from World Bank-backed ID4D project
According to the DG, NIMC’s partnership with the World Bank under the Nigeria Identification for Development (ID4D) project has played a crucial role in boosting enrollment numbers.
She noted that enrollment efforts are ongoing across both urban and rural areas, with the aim of registering even more Nigerians before the end of 2025.
“We have enrolled many Nigerians and are still counting. We will continue our efforts to ensure more Nigerians are captured before year-end,” Coker-Odusote said.
According to her, a major highlight of the partnership with the World Bank is the involvement of the private sector through the Frontier Partners scheme, which allows private agents to support nationwide NIN registration.
“They [Frontier Partners] work with us by going into communities to enroll Nigerians. This integration of the private sector has helped us scale significantly,” she said.
Coker-Odusote noted that the Commission has created job opportunities across the country by equipping state and local government offices with upgraded facilities and trained personnel to support NIN registration and modification processes.
“There are well-trained NIMC staff available to assist with enrollment and modifications, using the latest application tools,” she said.
She also touched on changes to the NIN pricing framework, revealing that some fees were reduced, others removed, while some were adjusted upwards to reflect service delivery costs.
New tech platforms to ease registration
The DG highlighted the introduction of several digital platforms to simplify access and reduce physical queues.
- These, she said, include online pre-enrollment and biometric capture; a modification platform that allows users to update personal records after relocating; and the Self-Assist Platform, which enables users to log in with biometric data to modify or update records securely, in compliance with cybersecurity and data protection standards
- She added that the NIMC NIN Authentication App, which integrates user data with the Commission’s backend systems, is also one of the initiatives.
- According to her, the app gives users more control over their data and introduces a robust layer of security to the identity system.
NIN is now required for student loans
Coker-Odusote also stressed the importance of NIN enrollment in accessing government-backed student loans, a policy aimed at promoting financial inclusion and supporting higher education.
“NIN provides a single, verifiable source of truth for applicants. This reduces the risk of duplication and identity fraud,” she said.
To strengthen trust in the identity system, she said NIMC has partnered with cybersecurity experts and implemented international best practices.
She noted that training and re-training of staff remains a priority to ensure efficient service delivery across all touchpoints.
