Nigerians To Pay For New Multipurpose National Identity Card – NIMC

Nigerians will now be required to remit a designated fee to obtain the forthcoming general multipurpose national identity card, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has revealed.

The Commission’s Director General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, who disclosed this during a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, said the payment would be facilitated through financial institutions operating within the country.

She further clarified that while the National Identification Number (NIN) is provided at no cost, there will be charges associated with the issuance of the physical identity card.

She said applicants for the card will have to request with their NIN through a self-service online portal or the banks. She added that applicants will have to pay through the banks to acquire the card.

“Just like how you pay to access your ATM cards in the banks, Nigerians will pay through the banks to access their cards within 48 hours after payment to get the digital multipurpose card,” Odusote stated.

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Odusote also announced that 107.34 million Nigerians have been enrolled into the national identification number database as of May 2023

She said the country’s NIN enrolment figure has reached 107 million as of May 2024, up from 85.6 million that was recorded in December 2023.

According to her, the figure was an increase of 3.2m or 3.2 percent, from 104m in December 2023.

She stated that this accomplishment stems from the strategic plan implemented by the current NIMC management, aligned with its 5-Point Agenda to capture all Nigerians in the shortest possible time.

With the ongoing increase in the enrollment centers and 3,656 staff, Odusote said she is targeting 200m enrollees from 107m on completion of the upgrade of the system and equipping of all NIMC centres soon.

She said, “As of this morning, the total enrolment on our database is 107.34m which is more than half of the projected Nigerian population.

“We hope to get to the 200 million mark upon completion of the upgrade of the system and equipping of all NIMC centres soon.”

The NIN, a unique identifier assigned to each citizen, has gained prominence in recent years as the cornerstone of various government initiatives aimed at enhancing security, governance, and service delivery.