The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has revealed that the National Identity Number (NIN) has reached 107.34 million, recording a growth of 3.2 million from the 104 million reported in December 2023.
This is just as the Commission said that Nigerians will pay for the proposed multi-purpose Identity (ID) Card.
The Director General of NIMC, Abisoye Coker-Odusote disclosed this while interacting with journalists in Abuja.
Odusote reiterated that as a result of enrollment surge, the commission is revamping its systems, adopting and implementing cutting-edge technologies to upgrade its equipment, and cracking down on fraudsters and extortionists.
The NIMC boss further noted that with the continuous expansion of enrollment centers across the country, the Commission aims to reach 200 million enrollees following the completion of its system upgrade.
She emphasised that NIMC intends to review the prices for its services to improve service delivery to Nigerians, noting that the Commission would prosecute any staff members caught conniving with illegal actors.
Her words: “All we are trying to do is to ensure that we provide a robust service for Nigerian citizens and legal residents. And to ensure that life is easy and seamless. One should not spend three to four hours in the NIMC office because of NIN services. It is something I will not allow to continue to happen. We will provide all necessary means to address the issue.
“We are clamping down extortioners parading themselves as NIMC staff. A lot of people have lost their money to extortioners.
“Any staff of NIMC that tries to work with illegal perpetrators will face disciplinary committee and be tried according to the Cybercrime Act 2015 and the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023. Same with any illegal perpetrators.
“We will make sure we create proper communication to gauge against extortioners.
“We are going to review our rate. It is not going to be much, but it will be reviewed. We have not reviewed our rate for a long time. It is not going to be exorbitant”.
