The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for a common database that will serve as the single source of citizenship identification in Nigeria.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who spoke during a courtesy visit by the management of NIMC led by the Managing Director Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, said the time has come when the national register of voters may draw from the citizenship register as is the case in many jurisdictions around the world.
“This may also enable citizens to vote in future elections from their places of choice anywhere in the country rather than the places they register as voters as is the case at present.
“To achieve this long-term goal, we will continue to deepen our collaboration with NIMC,” Prof. Yakubu stated.
He added that in furtherance with their collaboration, NIMC is deploying its officials to some of INEC’s registration centres during the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
According to him, the idea is to provide more Nigerians who are yet to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) the opportunity to do so.
“Working with NIMC, we carried out a pilot during the recent CVR in Anambra State from 8th to 20th July 2025.
“We are now set to scale it up nationwide. Citizens will therefore have the opportunity to register as voters while simultaneously registering for the NIN,” he said.
Prof. Yakubu expressed the hope that in due course, NIMC would provide details of the locations of INEC’s CVR centres where it will deploy its officials and also provide the modalities for the NIN registration.
He called for synergy with every national institution to strengthen electoral activities in Nigeria.
