Nigeria may miss a World Bank’s target of 148 million National Identification Number registrations by June 2024 after total NIN registrations hit 101 million as of June 2023.
Under the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, the World Bank expects NIN enrollment to hit 148 million by June 2024. According to the bank, the ID4D project is expected to increase the number of individuals with a national ID number, issued by a robust and inclusive foundational Identification system, which facilitates their access to services.
The global bank stated that by 2024, 65 per cent of the Nigerian population should have NIN. It said, “By 2024, the project aims to increase coverage of the national ID in Nigeria to 148 million persons.
“This figure corresponds to 65 per cent of the total 2024 population of Nigeria and will expand coverage to 91 million adults (80 per cent) as well as 57 million children (50 per cent).”
The timeline in a document titled, ‘Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project (P167183)’ specified June 1, 2024.
So far, 6.98 million (1.16 million per month) people have enrolled for NIN in 2023. As of December 2022, total NIN enrolment was 94.03 million. This is still far below the Federal Government’s target of 2.5 million registrations per month.
To achieve the World Bank’s target of 148 million, the government must increase its pace and enroll 47 million individuals in 12 months (about 3.92 million people per month).
The World Bank predicts that 85 per cent of the population would be covered by NIN by 2027.
It added, “The Nigeria Digital ID4D Project will bring coverage of digital ID in Nigeria to 85 per cent of the population and 97.5 per cent of adults by the end of 2027, over the course of two envisaged phases of implementation, which is a foundational element of the digital economy.”
Nigeria secured $430m to finance the project with the World Bank’s International Development Association credit of $115m alongside co-financing of $100m from the French Agency for Development and $215m from the European Investment Bank.
According to a report, only $35.6m had been disbursed for the implementation of the project as of April 30, 2023.
Par the National Identity Management Commission, the number of NIN enrolment hit 101 million as of June 26, 2023. It said, “NIMC’s enrolment figures as of June 26, 2023, currently stand at over 101 million unique records.
“The highest cumulative enrolment figure of over 11 million was recorded in Lagos State. Regional figures indicated an almost equal distribution across the North and South.”
The commission noted that there are now 57.34 million males and 43.68 million females with NIN. The total number of diasporan Nigerians with NIN also rose to 447,414.
The top five states with the highest number of NIN enrolments are Lagos (11 million), Kano (8.96 million) Kaduna (6.29 million), Ogun (4.23 million), and Oyo (3.92 million). The five bottom states are Bayelsa (635,277), Ebonyi (804,592), Ekiti (1.01 million), Cross-River (1.15 million), and Taraba (1.46 million).
In its National Development Plan 2021-2025, the Federal Government revealed its plan to enroll 100 million Nigerians in three years.
It said, “Identity management has remained a tasking issue for several administrations. There is paucity of data despite several agencies collecting identity data for their operations in Nigeria.
“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 enroll 2.5 million people monthly for the next three years.”
SOURCE: THE PUNCH
