The number of individuals with National Identification Numbers grew to 92.63 million in November, according to new industry statistics from the National Identity Management Commission.
These new statistics revealed that 19.93 million Nigerians had got their NINs in 2022.
Also, 52.11 million males and 40.52 million females now have NINs in the nation. The top five states for NIN holders are: Lagos (10.33 million), Kano (8.09 million), Kaduna (5.47 million), Ogun (3.87 million), and Oyo (3.68 million).
The bottom five states are Bayelsa (583,323), Ebonyi (744,869), Ekiti (971,712), Cross-River (1.06 million), and Taraba (1.35 million).
According to NIMC, the NIN was used to tie together all records about an individual – demographic data, fingerprints, head-to-shoulder facial picture, other biometric data and digital signature – in the National Identity Database to easily confirm and verify an individual’s identity when they travel and carry out transactions.
Every Nigerian is expected to get a NIN with Federal Government disclosing a plan to enroll 100 million people within a three-year period.
In its National Development Plan 2021-2025, the government revealed a plan to enroll about 2.5 million people within that time. 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.”
However, the NIN enrolment process has been besieged problems such as lack of proper funding, infrastructural deficiencies, and capacity issues. Earlier in the year, NIMC’s server had an issue that impacted on the ability of many Nigerians to verify their NINs.
