The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have pledged to deepen collaboration in order to harmonise identity data and strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
Speaking at meeting in the INEC headquarters Abuja, the Director General of NIMC, Engr. Dr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, reaffirmed the Commission’s mandate to integrate and harmonise identity data across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
She noted that NIMC currently has 14 statutory agencies represented on its board, including INEC, which has been a longstanding partner.
“In line with the Renewed Hope agenda of Mr. President, who is committed to ensuring credible elections based on reliable identity systems, we are here to further strengthen this collaboration,” Odusote said.
“Our goal is to build a trusted system that serves Nigerians, ensures inclusivity, and supports credible elections.”
Key in this renewed collaboration is NIMC’s involvement in INEC’s ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Odusote explained that NIMC officials would be deployed to INEC registration centres to provide Nigerians at the grassroots with the opportunity to enrol for the National Identification Number (NIN) while registering as voters.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who welcomed the NIMC delegation, described the partnership as a step towards achieving a unified national identity system.
He said while INEC manages the voter database for elections, NIMC holds the broader record of citizens, making both institutions custodians of Nigeria’s largest biometric repositories.
“Ultimately, when every Nigerian is enrolled with NIMC, its database could serve as the single source of truth for citizenship identification in Nigeria,” Yakubu said.
“In the future, the National Register of Voters may simply draw from the Citizenship Register, as is done in many democracies. This may also enable citizens to vote from anywhere in the country, rather than being restricted to their current polling units.”
Yakubu disclosed that both agencies had already piloted the joint registration model during the CVR exercise in Anambra state between July 8 and 20, 2025, and were now set to scale up the initiative nationwide.
“With NIMC present at our registration centres, citizens will have the dual opportunity to register as voters and obtain their NINs where they have not done so before,” he said.
The INEC Chairman emphasised that the synergy between the two agencies aligned with INEC’s commitment to partner with national institutions in strengthening electoral integrity.
NIMC, he said, would soon release details of the centres where its officials would be deployed as well as the modalities for NIN enrolment during the CVR.