NPC Pushes For Inclusive, Digital Civil Registration System

The chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra, has called for the establishment of dedicated budget lines for Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) at both the federal and state levels to enhance the effectiveness of Nigeria’s registration systems.

He made the appeal at the inaugural meeting of the National Coordination Committee on CRVS, held yesterday at the Abuja Continental Hotel.

The committee was constituted to lead reforms in civil registration processes and ensure that every vital life event — births, deaths, marriages, and divorces — is accurately documented.

“This committee is not merely about administrative tasks; it is foundational to legal identity, social protection, effective governance, and national development,” Hon. Kwarra said, emphasising that CRVS systems must be inclusive, digitised, and accessible to all Nigerians.

He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership in establishing the committee, and thanked development partners including UNICEF Nigeria for their technical and financial support.

With representation from key ministries, departments, and agencies — including the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) — the committee aims to foster inter-agency coordination, promote legal harmonisation, and mobilise sustained investments for CRVS.

Highlighting the gaps of underfunding, limited coverage, and lack of integration, the NPC chairman said the committee’s work will align with global standards under the UN Legal Identity Agenda and the “One UN” framework.

“We must prioritize public awareness campaigns, establish clear communication strategies, and ensure that data security and interoperability are central to our digital transformation efforts,” he said.

Kwarra added that efforts would be intensified in hard-to-reach and marginalized areas through town hall engagements, partnerships with traditional and religious leaders, and quarterly registration weeks to drive up coverage.

Echoing these sentiments, Sen. Victor Umeh, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, emphasised the importance of streamlining overlapping mandates among NPC, NIMC, and local governments to eliminate duplication and improve registration outcomes.

“We must link the data from various agencies to build a harmonized CRVS framework,” Umeh said, pledging legislative backing for the Birth, Death, etc. (Compulsory Registration) Bill pending before the National Assembly.

Chairman of the House Committee on National Population and Identity, Hon. Okunjimi Odimayo added that the forthcoming Population and Housing Census would lay the groundwork for a more robust CRVS system.

Other key speakers, including the statistician-general of the Federation, Prince Adeyemi Adeniran; the director-general of NIMC, Engr. Dr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote; and the director-general of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, underscored the critical link between CRVS data and national development.

“The CRVS system is central to delivering services across health, education, justice, and digital innovation sectors,” Adeniran noted.

The NPC director-general, Dr. Osifo Tellson Ojogun, presented the committee’s terms of reference and its implementation work plan.

The high-level meeting was attended by federal commissioners of the NPC, representatives from the National Orientation Agency, Federal Ministry of Finance, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), UNFPA, UNICEF, and the private sector.

The CRVS committee was inaugurated by President Tinubu in November 2023, as part of ongoing reforms to modernise Nigeria’s civil registration and identity management systems.