By Epiphanus Obia
Nigeria is set to expand its national digital identity programme under a five-year initiative backed by $433 million in funding from the World Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Union, as the country seeks to give more citizens a recognised digital identity that can be used to access public services.
The project will be implemented through the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) Digital Identity Ecosystem framework, which is designed to bring together government agencies, private companies and civil society organisations to enrol Nigerians into the National Identity Database and issue National Identity Numbers (NINs).
Rather than relying solely on NIMC offices, the framework allows qualified partners to register citizens on the commission’s behalf. These partners are expected to include Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), private enrolment vendors and civil society organisations. NIMC said the private vendors will be paid for every successful enrolment that results in the issuance of a valid and unique NIN, while registration for citizens will remain free.
A key objective of the initiative is to make identity registration part of other government services. Under the proposed system, Nigerians could apply for a driver’s licence or an international passport while simultaneously enrolling for a National Identity Number, reducing the need for separate registration processes.
The funding comes at a time when Nigeria is working to increase the number of citizens with a recognised form of identification. At the time of the announcement, only about 38% of the country’s population had been formally identified, leaving millions without a verifiable identity that could be used to access government and financial services.
The identity project also coincided with the Nigerian Army’s planned rollout of Operation Positive Identification in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. The security operation aimed to verify people’s identities using recognised means of identification as part of efforts to identify suspected insurgents.
A broader national identity system has long been seen as an important part of Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda. Beyond proving identity, the National Identity Number increasingly serves as a gateway to a range of public and private services, including passport applications, banking, telecommunications and other government programmes.
The five-year project is expected to expand enrollment, improve the country’s identity infrastructure and make it easier for Nigerians to access services through a single, recognised digital identity.