NIMC Issues 30M NIN In One Year As Its Data Base Reaches 70M

Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy announced last week that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had issued 70 million National Identification Numbers (NIN) to qualified Nigerians.

Pantami announced in Abuja on Monday, when he declared open the 3.5GHz spectrum auction for Nigeria’s 5G network.

The Minister, who emphasized the importance of identity management in the country’s 5G network, stated, “as of last week, the management of NIMC told me they had hit 70 million NIN issued”.

According to him, the ministry moved in response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive in 2020 to identify all Nigerians due to escalating security challenges, and NIN enrolment increased immediately.

“If you recall, we started around December 2020, and as at then, the figure was around 40 million NIN, which was attained in about 13 years, but as of today and within a year, NIMC has raised that figure to 70 million. Meaning that within the last one year, about 30 million NIN has been issued to Nigerians”, Pantami said.

Pantami, while congratulating the NIMC management, revealed that the commission issued 30 million NIN despite several challenges, particularly financial.

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“No funding has been granted NIMC yet. Though President Buhari has approved major funding, it has not been released to NIMC. But, I can assure you that it will be released soon”, Pantami said.

Recall that, According to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigerians have until October 31 to link their National Identity Numbers (NIN) with their Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM).

It further warned that Nigerians who do not have a NIN will soon be denied the ability to obtain driver’s licenses and passports.