Nigerian government to link people’s home address to digital ID system

Nigeria's federal government is set to standardize physical addresses and connect them to digital identities through a newly approved regulatory framework by the National Addressing Council. The initiative aims to enhance planning, security, financial inclusion, and emergency response efforts.

A digital addressing system is set to be developed and integrated with current government databases, including the digital identity database managed by the National Identity Management Commission, to ensure secure connections between verified addresses, [1] according to a report by The Whistler.

Kashim Shettima, who [2] is the Nigerian Vice President emphasized the importance of intercommunication among public systems to enhance their utility, noting that the new addressing system should link with various components of the nation's digital public infrastructure or DPI. “And the strength of a modern addressing system lies in its ability to speak to other public systems. Our digital addressing framework must connect intelligently with other digital identity, government databases and wider digital public infrastructure. When a verified identity can be linked securely to a verified address, the gains extend across financial inclusion, social interventions, logistics, planning and emergency response,” said Shettima.

“The Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is to serve as secretariat of the council. It must guide technical implementation, systems integration, interoperability and standards. NIMC has an essential responsibility in addressing individual verification and authentication, while CAC must support verification of business addresses. NIPOST remains indispensable for postcode administration and postal infrastructure.

[3] The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation oversees technical implementation, system integration, ensures interoperability, and establishes standards. The National Identity Management Commission is tasked with identity verification and authentication, while the Corporate Affairs Commission is responsible for supporting business address verification.

Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, [4] who is the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation said, “Before now, it was sort of crisis management but with coordination, we are now working as one nation and one people focused on doing this very critical assignment that should have been done decades ago standardising address, proof of address and digital address. Your Excellency and members of Council, let me say that the onerous role you vested on me, I will discharge with discipline, sense of purpose and unity.”

In July 2026, Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission has announced that it has received new presidential directives to ensure that [5] the National Identification Number is issued to every Nigerian by the end of the year. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, who [6] is the Director General of the commission, shared this [7] information during an appearance on local Channels Television. The announcement aligns with ongoing efforts by the government to integrate the National Identification Number into various sectors, aiming to transition from simply having digital public infrastructure to ensuring it effectively supports public service delivery.

The National Identity Management Commission is collaborating with partners on [8] the World Bank-supported Identification for Development project to expedite nationwide enrolment. “The President has given us till the end of this year to make sure that we capture every single Nigerian,” said Coker-Odusote. “What we have done is we have partnered through the World Bank ID4D project with front-end partners. They are part of the digital identity ecosystem. These are private citizens that we’ve enabled and given jobs to enrol citizens on our behalf. That’s why it’s called a unique identifier, so that you’re only enrolled once,”

Coker-Odusote highlighted that the true population of Nigeria is still uncertain, with estimates varying between 200 million and 250 million. This situation underscores the necessity of establishing a comprehensive identity database for effective national planning. “It is estimated that we’re 200 million. When we’re done enrolling, we will then know the actual numbers that we have. Some estimates say 230 million, while a few people say 250 million. Your identity is basically the foundation for effective governance and service delivery. How can you plan if you don’t know the total number of persons that you have? We have been mandated by Mr President to go down to the community levels to enrol every single Nigerian.”

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