President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday said the linkage of the National Identification Number with SIM cards has drastically reduced fraud and improved national security.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, spoke at the 2025 National Day of Identity organised by the National Identity Management Commission in Abuja.
“Working with the NCC, NIMC has enforced the NIN-SIM linkage, which has significantly reduced fraud and enhanced national security,” he said.
The President noted that identity is now more than a record, describing it as the foundation of citizenship, the gateway to opportunity, and the anchor for national security.
He added that the National Identification Number, supported by Public Key Infrastructure, has become central to Nigeria’s digital transformation, making transactions more secure and building citizens’ trust in government and private institutions.
“Without PKI, digital interactions remain vulnerable. Without PKI, citizens cannot fully trust that their data and transactions are secure.
But with PKI, Nigeria can build an ecosystem where trust is guaranteed, fraud is reduced, services are streamlined, and every citizen can engage with government and private institutions with confidence,” Tinubu said.
Commending the leadership of NIMC under Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Tinubu said the commission had enrolled over 126 million Nigerians, cleared a backlog of 2.5 million records, deployed over 800 mobile enrolment devices nationwide, and integrated with 125 partner agencies, including the Immigration Service, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the National Population Commission.
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