The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have agreed to work more closely to make it easier for Nigerians to register both as voters and for their National Identification Number (NIN) at the same time.
The partnership was confirmed during a visit by the NIMC Director-General, Engineer Dr. Abisola Kukar, and her team to INEC headquarters in Abuja. They were received by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, along with National Commissioners and directors of the commission.
Prof. Yakubu welcomed the move, describing it as a natural collaboration between the two agencies that already manage the country’s largest citizen databases. He explained that the long-term goal is for the NIMC’s citizenship database to become the “single source of truth” for national identification, which could eventually serve as the foundation for the voter register.
“When the time comes, the National Register of Voters may simply draw from the citizenship register as is the case in many parts of the world,” Yakubu said. “This may also allow citizens to vote in future elections from anywhere in the country, not just the location where they registered, as it works now.”
As part of the immediate plan, NIMC officials will be deployed to selected INEC voter registration centres across the country. This arrangement will give citizens the chance to register for both their voter card and NIN at the same place if they have not already obtained a NIN.
The joint effort builds on a pilot programme carried out in Anambra State in July 2022, which was described as successful. Prof. Yakubu said NIMC would soon publish the details of the centres and how the process will work.
“Citizens will therefore have the opportunity to register as voters while simultaneously registering for the NIN where they have not registered before,” he added.
