World Bank revises Nigeria’s digital identity plan as country falls short of crucial targets

Some implementation adjustments have been made to the Nigeria Digital Identity for Development (Nigeria ID4D) project sponsored by the World Bank (WB) and two other international financiers (the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank).

The project was supposed to close on June 30, 2024, by which time Nigeria should have registered at least 148 million people for the national digital ID. But that and other targets have yet to be met.

In a disclosed restructuring document on the ID4D project in Nigeria, the World Bank said the project realignment became inevitable after two co-financiers said they would cease their involvement in the project if the World Bank ceased to be the main implementer.

“The World Bank is the main implementing actor of this project, which is co-financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The closing dates for the AFD and EIB financing are set for 2026 and 2027 respectively. The two co-financiers have indicated that they would cancel their financing if the World Bank was no longer the main financier and implementing actor of this project,” reads an excerpt from the World Bank document.

“It is therefore essential that the World Bank extends the project closing date to allow for continuity among all co-financiers and avoid any disruption to the progress made so far and preserve the positive impact it has had on Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure.”

Funding of $430 million was approved for the ID4D project in Nigeria in February 2020, with some targets set for the country to achieve before the closing deadline of June 30, 2024.

The project primarily aimed to expand the issuance of national identity cards in Nigeria to simplify access to important services, based on a foundational, robust and inclusive identity system.

With some targets, such as amending the NIMC Act and extending ABIS to allow for more data storage, not yet being fully achieved, the proposed new deadline for the project is now 30 June 2026.

In the document, the World Bank describes the project’s progress as “moderately satisfactory” with a disbursement rate of 37.37%, noting that it faced a 22-month delay at the start of the implementation process for a number of reasons.

Despite this, the Bretton Woods institution acknowledges that the project has also made “significant progress in project activities” as Nigeria has been able to meet two key conditions for disbursement, namely the establishment of personal data protection legislation and the acceptability of the National Identity Management System (NIMS). However, with the extension of the project, the NIMC is expected to design and implement a new NIMS to enable authentication services.

The NIMC law, whose amendment is expected to “promote an inclusive and non-discriminatory legal and regulatory framework”, is expected to be completed by September, while the ABIS storage expansion entrusted to Idemia is expected by March next year, the WB document predicts.

Apart from the failure to meet some fund disbursement targets, the World Bank said in its document that the adjustments reflect the changing realities of the times and underscore the Nigerian government’s determination to build a digital public infrastructure (DPI), including a reliable and inclusive digital identity, as a channel to ensure quick and convenient access to public services.

The extension of the project is thus described as “essential” for the achievement of this objective of having an “inclusive and reliable identification system that will strengthen the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of governance and the delivery of public services and programs.”

Nigeria’s ID4D programme, implemented by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), was designed with four key objectives, namely, to strengthen the legal and institutional framework, establish a foundational identification system that is inclusive and robust, facilitate access to services through a national identity, and then ensure management and coordination of the system once it is operational.

Article topics

Africa | biometrics | digital identity | identity management | National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) | National Identity Number (NIN) | Nigeria | Nigeria ID4D | World Bank