The National Population Commission said over 10 million children aged zero to five years have been registered nationwide in the last three months.
The Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Nasir Kwarra, said this while speaking to journalists after First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu presented a birth certificate to the Baby of the Year at Asokoro General Hospital, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Kwarra, who was represented by the Federal Commissioner from Katsina State, Bala Banya, described the registration as a milestone in the country’s efforts to establish a robust identity management system.
He emphasised the importance of birth registration, noting that it provides legal identity and affirms the child’s status as a Nigerian.
“One birth certificate is an identity. It’s a legal identity. It is a document that identifies somebody as Nigerian,” he said.
The NPC has integrated the issuance of e-birth certificates with the National Identity Number system.
According to the Chairman, registered children are now automatically assigned an NIN at the time of their birth registration, ensuring their inclusion in the national database.
“In the last three months, we have registered more than 10 million children aged 0 to 5 years. This registration is continuous.
“We will now concentrate more on under-one-year registration, and we are making tremendous progress,” he added.
The Director-General of the Commission, Dr Osifo Ojogun, stressed that the Commission had concluded plans to establish over 4,000 registration centres throughout the country, bringing registration closer to the people.
Ojogun also noted that the Commission was taking advantage of available technology to ensure every child registered has an identity that cannot be duplicated anywhere.
He appreciated the First Lady, who was represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, for presenting the certificate to the Baby of the Year.
Ojogun also urged Nigerians to register their deaths with the Commission to enable it to maintain a clean register.
