The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in a bid to harmonise identity management and voter registration processes across Nigeria.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the NIMC leadership to INEC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, described the partnership as a transformative step toward electoral reform.
Yakubu noted that both agencies hold the country’s largest biometric databases—INEC for electoral records and NIMC for citizenship identification—underscoring the scale and potential of their cooperation.
“We look forward to the day when your database will serve as the single source of truth for citizenship identification in Nigeria. When that time comes, the national register of voters may simply draw from the citizenship register, as is the case in many countries around the world,” he said.
The INEC chairman added that such integration could one day allow Nigerians to vote from any location, regardless of where they initially registered, describing it as an ambitious but achievable vision.
As part of immediate measures, NIMC will deploy personnel to selected INEC Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) centres nationwide. This arrangement will enable citizens to obtain their National Identification Number (NIN) while registering to vote.
Yakubu revealed that a pilot scheme was conducted in Anambra State between July 8 and 20, 2025, and the initiative will now be scaled up nationwide. NIMC is expected to announce the designated CVR centres and provide further guidelines for the process.
“We welcome this partnership with NIMC, which aligns with our commitment to work with national institutions to strengthen electoral integrity and improve access for citizens,” Yakubu said.
On her part, NIMC’s Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, pledged the commission’s full commitment, describing the initiative as a crucial step toward building a unified and reliable identity system for Nigerians.
“Our focus is integration, organisation, and trust. Working hand in hand with INEC, we are creating a system Nigerians can rely on—not just for elections, but for access to essential services nationwide,” she stated.
INEC launched its nationwide CVR exercise on August 18, 2025. Data from the commission shows that as of August 31, 2,532,062 Nigerians had pre-registered online. In-person registration, which began on August 25, has so far recorded 72,274 completed enrolments.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have agreed to strengthen their collaboration in a bid to harmonise identity management and voter registration processes across Nigeria.
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