By Mercy Aikoye, Abuja
The National Identification Number (NIN) is set to play a bigger role in Nigeria’s development planning as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) intensifies partnerships with key government institutions to expand the use of digital identity across critical sectors of the economy.
The commission on Thursday advanced discussions with the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Food Security, Education, and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on ways to integrate identity management into public service delivery, improve transparency and strengthen Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts.
The separate engagements in Abuja focused on using the NIN as a reliable identity verification tool for agricultural interventions, education planning, business registration and secure digital transactions.
At the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Minister Senator Abubakar Kyari said collaboration with NIMC had helped the government improve the identification of genuine beneficiaries of agricultural programmes.
Kyari explained that the partnership would enable government interventions to reach legitimate farmers and entrepreneurs while reducing leakages in support programmes.
He said the ministry was reviewing its subsidy approach to ensure beneficiaries gradually become self-reliant rather than depending permanently on government assistance.
“It shouldn’t be a subsidy that will go on perpetually. We have a plan whereby beneficiaries receive support in the first year, the assistance reduces in the second year, and by the third year they should be able to stand on their own,” he said.
Responding, NIMC Director-General, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, described agriculture as a critical sector in Nigeria’s development, assuring that the commission would continue to support efforts aimed at ensuring interventions reach the right beneficiaries.
She said the recently enacted NIMC Act had strengthened the commission’s mandate as the country’s foundational identity authority and encouraged greater collaboration among government institutions.
In the education sector, NIMC and the Ministry of Education agreed to deepen the integration of learner records with the National Identification Number to improve planning and create a more reliable database.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said identity management remained essential to effective governance, noting that the education sector’s large population made it a major partner in building a trusted national identity system.
He disclosed that the sector currently maintains about 80 million learner records through the National Education Number, which aligns with the NIN for biometric verification and improved data management.
“We have almost 80 million people in the education sector. That makes us your biggest ally. We will support everything your agency needs to ensure that we have a single source of truth for the country,” Alausa said.
Coker-Odusote also disclosed that NIMC had commenced nationwide awareness campaigns on the NIMC Act 2026, which she said further positions the commission at the centre of Nigeria’s digital governance framework.
She revealed that the commission’s database now contains over 120.6 million enrolled citizens, making it the largest identity database in Africa and among the largest globally.
Meanwhile, discussions between NIMC and the Corporate Affairs Commission focused on improving identity verification for businesses and strengthening digital transactions.
The NIMC boss said collaboration with CAC would support secure electronic services through the deployment of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), while aligning Nigeria’s identity management system with global standards.
CAC Registrar-General, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, described NIMC as a strategic partner in advancing technology-driven government services.
He said stronger identity validation would help reduce fraud, improve corporate registration processes and support efforts against financial crimes.
Magaji also expressed the commission’s readiness to work with NIMC on the PKI initiative and requested that CAC be considered as an aggregator for identity verification services.
