The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has urged the Association of Corporate Online Editors (ACOE) and the wider media community to help disseminate accurate information about Nigeria’s new identity management law and promote public understanding of its provisions.
Mrs. Florence Oloruntade, Director, SERVICOM, who represented the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, made the appeal on Monday in Abuja at the commission’s seventh roundtable workshop with online media partners, tagged “The New NIMC Act: Building Trust, Enabling Services, Transforming Nigeria.”
Oloruntade described the relationship between NIMC and the online media as an important partnership, stressing that transparency should not end with the signing of the NIMC Act 2026, but must remain a continuous obligation.
She said the media would play a critical role in the implementation of the new law by helping Nigerians understand what has changed, as well as their rights and responsibilities under the new legal framework.
According to her, effective public communication would be particularly important in addressing misconceptions surrounding the National Identification Number (NIN), data privacy and the use of identity information.
“Misinformation about the NIN, about data privacy, about mandatory use has cost us public trust in the past,” she said.
Oloruntade urged members of ACOE and other media practitioners to provide accurate and balanced information on the new Act and its implementation, noting that public understanding would be critical to achieving the objectives of the legislation.
She said NIMC remained committed to open dialogue with ACOE and the broader media community, describing the engagement as necessary for building public confidence in Nigeria’s national identity system.
The NIMC official recalled that the commission began extensive consultations in 2024, including roundtable discussions in Abuja and Lagos, where stakeholders raised concerns about the inclusion of vulnerable Nigerians, eligibility for NIN, data ownership and the circumstances under which identity information could be disclosed.
Oloruntade said the NIMC Act 2026, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 26, repealed and replaced the 2007 Act and provides a modern legal foundation for Nigeria’s identity management system.
She said the new legislation strengthens data protection, provides clearer provisions on inclusion and eligibility, and gives NIMC expanded responsibilities in secure authentication, encryption, digital signatures and electronic trust services.
The law also provides legal backing for greater interoperability among government databases and identity systems, with potential benefits for national security and access to essential services.
She said the ultimate responsibility was to ensure that Nigerians not only know that a new identity law exists, but also understand how its provisions affect them.
