With World Bank Funding in Place,  Nigeria Pursues National ID Program

The World Bank has now provided $45.5 million to Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as part of the Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, and the NIMC has now re-engaged with Idemia to upgrade its biometric systems.

The funds, disbursed in tranches between December 2021 and April 2024, are part of a $430 million project approved by the World Bank in February 2020. The project is co-financed by the World Bank’s International Development Association, the French Agency for Development, and the European Investment Bank.

The ID4D project aims to increase the number of Nigerians enrolled in the National Identification Number (NIN) system, focusing on marginalized groups. As of May, the number of NINs had risen to 107.34 million from 104 million in December of 2023.

NIMC’s Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, reported that the progress of the project has been termed ‘moderately satisfactory’ by the World Bank. The goal is to enroll 200 million Nigerians in the NIN system by 2025.

The NIMC also recently announced the inauguration of a Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project Ecosystem Steering Committee, to push for the NIN-linked digital IDs.

Despite progress, challenges persist in managing data efficiently and ensuring the integrity of the digital identity system to prevent fraud and underage registrations. In 2022, national ID databases in Africa experienced an average daily downtime of about an hour and 45 minutes, highlighting the need for robust data management systems.

Recently, a website known as “expressverify” was found monetizing the recovery of NINs and personal information from the Nigerian identification database, prompting the Nigeria Data Protection Commission to increase scrutiny of NIMC licensees.

NIMC has identified several fraudulent websites involved in illegal activities and warned citizens to beware. The commission reassured the public that measures are in place to protect the database from cyber threats, adhering to ISO 27001:2013 standards and complying with the Nigerian Data Protection Law.

Source: Voice of Nigeria

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(Previously published on Mobile ID World)