The National Population Commission (NPC) has achieved a milestone by registering and issuing birth certificates to over 10 million children across Nigeria.
This landmark achievement was announced by the NPC chairman, Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra, during a ceremony at the Asokoro General Hospital in Abuja.
The event featured First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, represented by the vice president’s wife, Hajiya Nana Shettima, presenting a birth certificate to the “Baby of the Year.”
Speaking through the federal commissioner from Katsina, Mr Bala Banya, the NPC chairman, reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to ensuring that every child born in Nigeria is registered and provided with a birth certificate.
He emphasised that this effort is part of the commission’s mandate to create a reliable national identity system.
“With the digitisation of our registration process and a strong partnership with the Primary Health Care Agency, we are ensuring that children, no matter where they are born, are promptly registered.
“Over the last three months, we have registered more than 10 million children aged 0 to 5 years. This registration process is ongoing, with a renewed focus on registering children under one,” Kwarra said.
He also encouraged parents and guardians to take advantage of the free registration service.
The director general of the NPC, Dr Telson Ojegun, disclosed plans to establish over 4,000 registration centres nationwide.
This initiative aims to bring registration services closer to communities and ensure no child is left undocumented.
Dr Ojegun highlighted the adoption of advanced technology to create unique and secure identities for every registered child.
“By leveraging modern technology, we can ensure that every child’s identity is safe and cannot be duplicated,” he noted.
The event also underscored the importance of registering births and deaths.
Dr Ojegun urged Nigerians to register deaths with the NPC to maintain an accurate and clean national registry.
The first lady commended the commission’s efforts in her message delivered by Hajiya Nana Shettima.
She expressed her support for the NPC’s initiatives to promote comprehensive civil registration and vital statistics across the country.
Shettima maintained that as the NPC moves forward with its ambitious plans, the commission remains focused on achieving universal birth registration, a critical step toward safeguarding the rights and identities of Nigerian children.
