The National Identity Management Commission has revealed that the number of Nigerians with National Identification Numbers reached 104.16 million as of December 31, 2023, showing a 10.77% increase from the previous year.
The data indicates that 10.13 million Nigerians registered for NIN in 2023, falling short of the Federal Government’s target of 2.5 million registrations per month.
NIMC explained that a monthly average of 844,167 Nigerians obtained NIN in 2023, highlighting the considerable gap from the government’s goal.
The highest cumulative enrolment figures were recorded in Lagos State, with over 11.4 million, while regional distribution indicated an almost equal spread across the North and South.
NIMC confirmed that 530,345 Nigerians in the diaspora have acquired NINs, with 59.12 million males and 45.04 million females now having NINs.
Despite the progress, the figures fall short of the World Bank’s target of 148 million NINs by June 2024 under the Digital Identification for Development project.
The project aims to issue NINs to at least 65 million female Nigerians and 50 million NINs to children under 16 years of age by the specified deadline.
The top five states for NIN enrolments include Lagos (11.43 million), Kano (9.19 million), Kaduna (6.45 million), Ogun (4.41 million), and Oyo (4.04 million).
Meanwhile, the bottom five states for enrolments are Taraba (1.49 million), Cross River (1.19 million), Ekiti (1.03 million), Ebonyi (839,506), and Bayelsa (657,484).
NIMC acknowledged the slow progress and the challenges in meeting the World Bank’s target.
The commission also assures the public of ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency of the NIN enrolment process.
