Alausa says Tinubu's digital reforms are laying the foundation for transparent and globally competitive education
Abuja – The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to strengthen digital identity across Nigeria's education sector, with the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, announcing deeper collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to build a trusted identity system for nearly 80 million learners nationwide.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement with the leadership of NIMC in Abuja on Thursday, Alausa said the partnership would improve education planning, strengthen data credibility and support evidence based policies across the sector. He stressed that a trusted digital identity system has become indispensable for effective governance and sustainable national development.
The Minister linked the initiative to the digital transformation agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the administration's reforms are repositioning public institutions through technology, innovation and transparency. According to him, education remains central to the President's vision of building a globally competitive economy, making reliable data and digital infrastructure essential to achieving that objective.
Alausa disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Education has already aligned the National Learners Identification Number with the National Identification Number through the Nigeria Education Management Information System, a move he said is improving the quality of education data used for planning, monitoring and resource allocation.
He noted that the education sector currently serves almost 80 million learners across basic, technical, vocational and tertiary education, making it one of the largest platforms for implementing a trusted national identity framework.
Earlier, Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, Engr. Bisoye Coker Odusote, said the Commission was engaging Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the country to explain the reforms introduced by the newly enacted National Identity Management Commission Act 2026.
She said the legislation positions NIMC as Nigeria's foundational digital identity authority and provides the legal framework for Digital Public Infrastructure and Public Key Infrastructure. She added that the Commission has enrolled more than 120 million Nigerians into the national identity database, integrated its services with key government and financial institutions and introduced the NIMC Authentication App and a free Digital ID Card to expand access to secure identity services.
Providing further insight into the reforms, the Head of Strategy and Programme Office at NIMC, Dr. Alva Nkoku, said the new law moves Nigeria beyond conventional identity management to a trusted digital ecosystem capable of supporting secure authentication, digital signatures and other electronic transactions. He noted that the reforms would also improve student enrolment, scholarship administration, certificate authentication and examination management while reducing fraud and strengthening confidence in digital public services.
The meeting ended with both institutions reaffirming their commitment to working together to implement the new law and leverage trusted digital identity to improve governance, education service delivery and Nigeria's broader digital economy.
Adeola Kunle
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