FG Integrates 15.6 Million Nigerians’ NINs Into Social Register

The Federal Government has integrated the National Identification Numbers (NINs) of 15.65 million Nigerians into the National Social Register as part of efforts to improve the identification of poor and vulnerable households and strengthen the delivery of social protection programmes.

The National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account, noting that more than 13.3 million unique households had been updated across 771 local government areas in 37 states as of October 2026.

The development comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to expand its cash transfer programme, through which ₦658.9bn had reportedly been disbursed to 10.46 million poor and vulnerable households as of September 2026, according to the World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update.

The World Bank has called for the expansion of the programme, improved payment adequacy and more consistent delivery of financial assistance to beneficiaries.

NASSCO said the latest figures reflected ongoing efforts to improve the quality of data used to identify beneficiaries, strengthen verification processes and promote transparency in the implementation of social protection programmes.

“As of October 2026, we have successfully integrated the National Identification Number of over 15.6 million individuals into the National Social Register, with more than 13.3 million unique households updated across 771 Local Government Areas in 37 states,” the office stated.

It added that the progress reflected collaboration between NASSCO and its state-level partners to strengthen data quality, improve beneficiary identification and build a more transparent, inclusive and responsive social protection system for vulnerable Nigerians.

Figures released by the office showed that the National Social Register contained 21,114,531 households and 83,162,654 individuals as of October 2026.

Of the total households, 13,330,387 had been updated, representing 63.13 per cent coverage. This leaves approximately 7.78 million households, or 36.87 per cent of the registered total, yet to be covered by the reported update.

The figures also showed that 11,347,989 households had at least one member whose valid NIN had been integrated into the register, representing approximately 53.74 per cent of all registered households.

Meanwhile, the 15,653,374 individuals whose NINs had been integrated accounted for about 18.82 per cent of the 83.16 million people listed in the register.

The distinction between updated households and those with at least one integrated NIN is significant, as updating household records does not necessarily mean that every member has a verified identification number.

Broader NIN integration could help strengthen beneficiary verification, improve the accuracy of household records and reduce the risk of duplicate or inaccurate entries in the social register.

A state-by-state breakdown revealed significant disparities in coverage across the country, with Ebonyi State recording the highest rate at 88.08 per cent, followed by Enugu at 86.62 per cent and Kano at 86.18 per cent.

Other states with relatively high coverage included Kogi at 80.61 per cent, Ekiti at 80.25 per cent, Zamfara at 78.74 per cent and Bauchi at 78.16 per cent.

At the other end of the ranking, Delta State recorded the lowest coverage at 25.31 per cent, followed by Lagos at 35.36 per cent and Borno at 38.18 per cent. Sokoto recorded 41.61 per cent, while Oyo State posted 41.28 per cent.

The difference between Ebonyi, the state with the highest reported coverage, and Delta, the lowest, stood at 62.77 percentage points, highlighting the uneven pace of household record updates across the country.

While Ebonyi, Enugu and Kano had each recorded coverage above 86 per cent, Delta’s figure indicated that the reported update had reached only about one in four households covered by the exercise.

Delta’s coverage was also 10.05 percentage points below Lagos, the second-lowest state, underscoring the substantial variations in progress among states.

The figures highlight the challenges facing the government as it seeks to strengthen the National Social Register and improve the targeting of financial assistance to vulnerable Nigerians.

Improved identification and more reliable household data are considered important to ensuring that social protection benefits reach eligible recipients, particularly amid rising living costs and continuing economic pressures on low-income households.