NIMC Deepens Media Partnership, Pledges Stronger Engagement With Online Editors By Raymond Enoch
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has pledged to deepen its engagement with the Association of Corporate Online Editors (ACOE) and the wider media community as part of efforts to strengthen transparency, accurate public information and confidence in Nigeria’s evolving identity management system.
The commitment was made on Monday in Abuja by Mrs. Florence Oloruntade, Director, SERVICOM, who represented the Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, at the Commission’s seventh roundtable workshop with online media partners.
Themed “The New NIMC Act: Building Trust, Enabling Services, Transforming Nigeria,” the engagement focused on the implications of the NIMC Act 2026 and the role of the media in helping Nigerians understand the changes introduced by the new legislation.
Oloruntade described the relationship between NIMC and the online media as a critical partnership, stressing that transparency must go beyond the enactment of the new law and remain a continuous obligation of the Commission.
She said the media would be central to the successful implementation of the Act by translating its provisions into information that ordinary Nigerians could understand, particularly regarding their rights, responsibilities and obligations under the new identity management framework.
She identified misinformation surrounding the National Identification Number (NIN), data privacy and the alleged mandatory use of identity information as some of the issues that had affected public confidence in the past.
> “Misinformation about the NIN, about data privacy, about mandatory use has cost us public trust in the past,” she said.
The NIMC official therefore urged members of ACOE and other media practitioners to approach reporting on the new Act with accuracy, balance and responsibility, noting that effective public communication would be crucial to securing citizens’ confidence in the reforms.
According to her, NIMC would continue to maintain an open channel of communication with ACOE and other media stakeholders, recognising that sustained engagement was necessary to build trust around Nigeria’s national identity infrastructure.
Oloruntade recalled that the Commission commenced extensive stakeholder consultations in 2024, including roundtable engagements in Abuja and Lagos, where concerns were raised over the inclusion of vulnerable Nigerians, eligibility for the NIN, ownership of identity data and the circumstances under which personal identity information could be disclosed.
She explained that the NIMC Act 2026, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 26, repealed and replaced the 2007 legislation, providing what she described as a more contemporary legal foundation for Nigeria’s identity management architecture.
She said the new law strengthens data protection provisions, provides greater clarity on inclusion and eligibility, and expands NIMC’s responsibilities in areas including secure authentication, encryption, digital signatures and electronic trust services.
The legislation, she added, also provides a legal framework for greater interoperability among government databases and identity systems, with potential implications for national security, service delivery and citizens’ access to essential services.
Oloruntade stressed that the success of the new law would ultimately be measured not merely by its enactment but by Nigerians’ understanding of what it means for them.
“The ultimate responsibility is now to ensure that Nigerians not only know that a new identity law exists but also understand how it affects them,” she said on behalf of the Director-General.
The roundtable consequently placed the media at the centre of the emerging identity reform agenda, with NIMC seeking closer collaboration with online publishers and editors to bridge information gaps and counter misconceptions as implementation of the new Act gathers pace.
