Jigawa NIMC Coordinator Raises Concerns Over Low NIN Enrollment

Mr. Aminu Jakada, the Jigawa Coordinator of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has expressed concern about the low enrolment for the National Identification Number (NIN) in the state.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Dutse on Saturday, Jakada noted that only about 2.6 million people in the state have obtained the NIN so far.

Jigawa, the eighth most populous state in Nigeria, has a population of over 7,499,100 people as of 2022, according to NAN.

Jakada described the enrolment figure as too low and urged citizens and legal residents to obtain their NIN.

“The problem we have now is that people are not coming out to register. It is only when there is an issue like now, with people registering for JAMB, that we see crowds in all centres. But immediately after the JAMB registration, everybody will stay at home until there is something that requires them to obtain NIN,” he added.

The NIMC coordinator appealed to traditional rulers in the state to assist the commission in sensitizing their subjects to prioritize obtaining their identity number.

He stated that an aggressive campaign on enrolment would speed up the registration of more citizens and legal residents in the state.

Jakada particularly appealed to Dutse, Gumel, Ringim, and Hadejia Emirate Councils to emulate Kazaure Emirate by establishing special NIN enrolment centres in their respective domains.

He explained that the establishment of special NIN registration centres by the Emir of Kazaure, Alhaji Najib Hussaini-Adamu, led to the enrolment of 75 percent of the people in the area, hence the need for the other four emirates to emulate the initiative.

The coordinator added that before the establishment of the centres by the Emir of Kazaure, the area was lagging behind in terms of NIN enrolment.

According to him, the emirate is now leading with 75 percent, followed by Hadejia emirate with 65 percent of registered residents.

He further stated that the record of enrolment in Dutse emirate was 50 percent, while Gumel emirate has 30 percent and Ringim emirate, 20 percent.

“Traditional institutions can assist us through sensitization so that people will be more aware of the exercise, and that will speed it up.

We are calling on other individuals in the state who can afford to assist by establishing special centers in their respective communities to do so, in order to register more people,” Jakada said.