Nigeria has spent years trying to solve a basic problem of the digital economy: proving who people are. It now has 117.5 million people with National Identification Numbers (NINs), but the latest World Bank assessment suggests the harder part may be turning that scale into a system that is accurate, trusted, and useful.
As of June 30, 2026, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) had issued NINs to 117.5 million people out of 134.6 million enrolments. The target, backed by the World Bank’s Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project, is 180 million by December 2026.
That leaves Nigeria 62.5 million NINs short, with roughly six months to close the gap. NIMC is currently enrolling between 1.5 and 1.8 million people per month. To reach 180 million by December, the pace would need to rise to about 7.4 million monthly, more than four times the current rate.
NIMC did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Originally published by TechCabal.