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The World Bank has announced that Nigeria will now receive funding for the implementation of its Identity for Development (ID4D) project, following the enactment of a data protection law. The World Bank’s latest report on the ID4D project in Nigeria states that the signing of the country’s data protection bill into law has fulfilled the condition for the release of funds from the International Development Association (IDA), European Investment Bank, and French Development Agency. Consequently, enrollment for the National ID under the project will commence in July.
According to project documents, the IDA will provide a credit of $115 million, while the French Agency for Development will support it with $100 million. Additionally, the European Investment Bank is co-financing the project with $215 million.
The implementation status report from the World Bank reflects an improved rating for the project, now rated as “moderately satisfactory” compared to the previous rating of “moderately unsatisfactory.” The bank highlights the positive developments resulting from the enactment of the data protection law, stating that it provides a legal framework for personal information protection and establishes a data protection commission for regulating data processing.
The law’s enactment also lifts the disbursement condition for enrollment, enabling the release of funds from the IDA, European Investment Bank, and French Development Agency. Pilot enrollment is expected to begin in July 2023. The amendment of the legal and regulatory framework of the National Identity Management Commission is also progressing well with the support of a law firm contracted under the project.
The project’s objective, as approved by the World Bank Board in 2019, is to increase the number of individuals with a national ID number issued through a robust and inclusive foundational ID system that facilitates access to services.
The ID4D project sets ambitious targets for Nigeria, aiming to issue National Identification Numbers (NIN) to 148 million Nigerians by June 2024. As of June this year, the National Identity Management Commission disclosed that over 101 million individuals had been enrolled for the NIN. Additionally, the project targets issuing NIN to at least 65 million female Nigerians and 50 million NIN to children under 16 years old by June 2024. While the data released by the NIMC did not specify the number of children captured, it revealed that 43.7 million females had been issued the NIN as of June 26, 2023.
Other performance indicators include the development of pro-poor functional public and private services utilizing the foundational ID system for authentication and service delivery, NIN enrollments in rural areas, and training government personnel in best practices for legal and regulatory environments related to foundational ID, privacy, and data protection. These targets are expected to be achieved by June 2024.
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