By Our Correspondent
\nAhead of 2027 general election,the Independent National Electorl Commission INEC, has assured that the newly assented National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 will help end identity theft, impersonation and duplication in Nigeria\u2019s voter register ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this on Wednesday during a working visit by the management of NIMC led by its Director General\/CEO, Engr. Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, to INEC headquarters in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan described the new law as the birth of \u201ca sovereign digital authority\u201d that goes beyond registration to cover the entire digital economy, from commerce to land titles and elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cI welcome warmly management staff, technical staff, CEO of NIMC, as well as our own. When he said that a new national identity, digital identity has been born,\u201d the INEC Chairman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the new act that has just brought NIMC, not just as a registration identity model, but into a sovereign digital authority that encapsulates every aspect of life\u2026 even land title now. Because I recall there was a time when we were talking about digital land title, which has never been possible in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan noted that INEC has for years struggled with issues of identity fraud in the electoral process.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur dear DG and CEO, national commissioners, you know how we have patched the issues relating to identity. Because when you talk of the identity of a person, identity can easily be stolen. Identity can easily be impersonated. Identity can easily be duplicated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the new digital-focused Act, signed 20 years after the analogue 2007 law, provides the legal foundation to tackle those problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this new mandate\u2026 it will be easier for us to detect several cases of duplications in our register. And with the technology you are also using, it is also going to be possible to fish out some people who are impersonating and stealing other people\u2019s identities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The INEC boss commended NIMC\u2019s leadership for accelerating national identity enrolment, saying the Commission has now become \u201cthe reliable anchor of the country\u2019s evolving digital population infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
He disclosed that INEC will leverage NIMC\u2019s biometric database to \u201ccontinuously audit, verify, and eliminate duplicates\u201d and will allow citizens to use existing NIN credentials for online voter registration and PVC replacement.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrucially, to expand access\u2026 we have officially decided to allow anyone and everyone to register for the PVC online as a student. And through this service, we are also going to allow people whose PVCs have been defeated, been destroyed\u2026 to have access to PVC applications,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan added that with the new Act, a printable PVC backed by NIN can be issued if reported 90 days before an election, to ensure \u201cnobody is going to be disenfranchised.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also flagged the need for both agencies to develop protocols around Artificial Intelligence to protect the integrity of data systems.<\/p>\n
In her remarks, NIMC DG\/CEO, Engr. Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assented to the NIMC Act 2026 on June 26, 2026, ending almost two decades of operating under an outdated law.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming.. And now we have been strengthened as an institution with the new Act\u2026 to ensure that NIMC is cemented as the foundational identity for Nigeria,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Coker-Odusote announced that under the new law, NIMC is now also the home of Nigeria\u2019s Digital Public Infrastructure and the Root Certification Authority for Public Key Infrastructure, PKI \u2014 \u201cwhich is basically digital trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs our sister agency, INEC, we all handle data in our various ways. We are here to deepen that collaboration\u2026 The public key infrastructure will further strengthen the electoral system that you have at the moment,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n
She said identity remains \u201cthe bedrock of foundation for any effective governance, for any election planning\u201d and pledged NIMC\u2019s full support to deliver \u201ca fair and transparent election\u201d for Nigerians.<\/p>\n
Director of Strategic Programs Office, NIMC, Dr. Alvan Ikoku, who gave a technical presentation, said the 2026 Act transforms NIMC \u201cfrom a database custodian to Nigeria\u2019s foundational digital authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy this, NIMC now moves from identity storage to digital trust. From record management to national digital infrastructure. From identity issuer to a national trust actor,\u201d Dr. Ikoku explained.<\/p>\n
He said the biggest institutional change is NIMC\u2019s designation as Nigeria\u2019s Root Certification Authority \u2014 the nation\u2019s highest authority for digital trust \u2014 enabling it to issue digital certificates and support secure digital signatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Act reinforces the principle of one person, one identity, one number, and by extension, one trusted digital ecosystem. This simplifies service delivery, eliminates duplication, reduces fraud,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Ikoku added that the Act provides legal backing for Digital Public Infrastructure built on three pillars: digital identity, digital payment, and trusted data exchange. He said this will strengthen cybersecurity, financial inclusion, ease of doing business, and Nigeria\u2019s participation in cross-border digital trade under AfCFTA.<\/p>\n
Both agencies agreed to have their technical teams work immediately to integrate systems and maximize benefits before 2027.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan noted that with over 100 million NINs already in the NIMC database, the cost of printing and maintaining an outdated voter register will reduce significantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to meeting you at NIMC. To see how we can help those people,\u201d he said, referring to cleaning up deceased voters from the register.<\/p>\n
The meeting ended with both parties expressing optimism that the collaboration will usher in \u201cthe next phase of digital evolution in Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent Ahead of 2027 general election,the Independent National Electorl Commission INEC, has assured that the newly assented National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 will help end identity theft, impersonation and duplication in Nigeria\u2019s voter register ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this on Wednesday during a working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15577"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15579,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15577\/revisions\/15579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}