NIMC unveils plan to reach 187 million NIN registrations by December

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced a partnership with the Ministry of Youth Development and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train selected Youth Corps members in driving nationwide NIN enrollment in all wards. 

According to the NIMC on Wednesday, the project is structured to penetrate local areas, especially children under 16, across all Wards in the 774 local governments of the federation by taking enrollment close to people. 

“This initiative aims to reach previously unreachable areas and encourage Nigerians, especially children under 16, to enroll for NIN. The goal is to take NIN enrollment closer to the people, supporting President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” a statement from the NIMC reads.

As part of the initiative, NIMC explained that the training will enable corps members to facilitate NIN enrollment in their respective wards.

For the agency, the development comes amid its plans to enroll 85% of Nigerians before December 2025. NIMC said the pursuit will be powered by a combination of improved infrastructure, expanded registration centres, and public sensitisation campaigns.

Nigeria’s digital identity initiative falls under the World Bank’s Digital Identity for National Development (ID4D) program. The program was formulated to increase the number of legitimate NIN holders among the citizens. The initial funding phase of the project began in 2020. 

While the mandatory NIN enrollment has been launched since September 2015, the agency fell short of the 180 million enrollment target of June 2024 set by the World Bank. Having experienced various difficulties, such as sparse registration infrastructure and low public awareness, the deadline was extended to December 2026.

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Is this a step to reaching NIMC’s set target?

The partnership with NYSC represents a pivotal step in NIMC’s move to enroll at least 85% of Nigerians by December 2025.

According to the last update from the NIMC portal, approximately 120 million Nigerians have been enrolled under the scheme as of April 30, 2025. With the 85 per cent year-end target, the commission needs to enrol 67 million more Nigerians, as the country’s population is currently estimated at over 220 million. 

Amid this, the NIMC boss revealed in May that 100 million more Nigerians would be captured by December, and the Commission is working to meet the target.

While this is a smart move by empowering youth to boost NIN enrolment, stronger ID coverage, and national progress, NIMC must make a conscious effort to oversee the proper implementation of this plan. The agency can leverage on enrolling corp members to penetrate rural areas and underserved communities across the country.

As this signals a step in its collaboration plans, the NIMC DG/CEO, Engr. (Dr.) Abisoye Coker-Odusote previously noted that the Commission aims to work with more partners to enroll and issue NINs to all Nigerians and legal residents in every ward, ensuring no one is left out.

In furtherance of the enrollment program, the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) recently revealed that 59,786 inmates have so far been enrolled in the NIN registration exercise currently ongoing across various custodial centres nationwide. The figure represents 74% of the country’s total inmate population of 80,879.

While a total of 59,786 inmates have been captured in the NIN initiative, the NCoS explained that mechanisms are in place to ensure that the registration of the remaining inmates is done in a seamless operation.

Earlier in January, NIMC granted the Nigerian Correctional Service a license to register all 80.879 inmates across the 256 custodial centres in the country for NIN. It stated that the process will enable the registration of inmates for NIN, which will also prevent the exclusion of inmates from the country’s National Development plans.