The World Bank has updated Nigeria’s target for the Digital Identity for Development project, increasing the number of Nigerians to be issued the National Identification Number from 148 million to 180 million.
Despite missing the original target by June 2024, the project has made significant progress, justifying the extension and expansion to include more Nigerians.
As of October 2024, the Director-General of the NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, reported that the Commission had issued the NIN to 115 million Nigerians and legal residents.
This marks significant progress toward the target, even though it remains below the updated goal of 180 million NIN holders.
Despite the progress made, the World Bank highlighted a significant gap in digital identification, with almost half of Nigerians, particularly women, persons with disabilities, and disadvantaged groups, still lacking the National Identification Number.
This exclusion hinders their access to government assistance, financial inclusion, and participation in the digital economy, perpetuating inequality and limiting opportunities for vulnerable populations.
The World Bank acknowledged that the ID4D project has begun addressing this gap by implementing targeted enrollment efforts for the poor and vulnerable populations.
“This project aims to support universal NIN coverage by increasing the target for the number of NIN to be issued under the project from 148 million to 180 million. This will have transformational impact by enabling Nigerians to utilize digital identification for prosperity,” the Bank stated.
The World Bank revealed that on May 31, 2024, the Nigerian government requested a three-year extension of the ID4D project.
This extension would allow more time to meet the updated targets, particularly focusing on expanding digital identification to underserved and vulnerable populations.
The World Bank announced that a two-stage restructuring and extension plan was agreed upon for the ID4D project.
The first stage, processed in June 2024, extended the project’s closing date from June 30, 2024, to December 31, 2024. It also involved updating the results framework and removing activities that no longer aligned with government priorities.
This six-month extension was granted to allow the Nigerian government to demonstrate its commitment by designing and launching the procurement of a new national identity management system that is open-source, modular, interoperable, and scalable.
“The government has successfully achieved this milestone, and, on this basis, the second stage extension for an additional 24 months is being proposed to allow for the completion of the remaining critical activities and the successful achievement of the project development objectives (PDO).
“The proposed restructuring would extend the closing date from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2026,” it said.
The total financing for the ID4D project amounts to $430 million, with $115 million from the World Bank’s IDA, $100 million from the French Development Agency (AFD), and $215 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The World Bank reported that 53.16% of the funds have been disbursed so far. Additionally, Nigeria has made significant progress toward meeting the final disbursement condition, which involves amending the NIMC Act to create an inclusive and non-discriminatory legal and regulatory framework.
In addition to the legal reforms required for disbursement, the World Bank stated that the ID4D project is also supporting legislative processes aimed at building trust in the broader digital economy.
“This includes the development of two critical laws, namely a cyber security Bill and the Nigeria Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill (NDEB). Both Bills aim to strengthen Nigeria’s participation in the global digital economy by addressing key aspects such as cyber security, e-signatures and e-commerce.
“In addition, the project is supporting the development of a national data sharing framework. These reforms are critical as they will enable Nigerian people and businesses to transact online in a safe and secure manner,” the Bank stated.
