The National Population Commission (NPC) says Nigerians can now register births and obtain certificates online through its newly introduced digital registration platform, eliminating the need for physical visits in many cases.
Acting Director-General of the commission, Mr. Manasseh Aboho, said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a media conference on the inauguration of the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system and the VitalReg platform.
Aboho said that the platform enabled Nigerians at home and abroad to complete birth registration and obtain certificates online, while physical registration centres had been retained nationwide for those without internet access.
He described the initiative as a major reform following years of development, pilot implementation and testing, adding that the commission was confident of the system’s sustainability.
According to him, the commission’s database will serve as Nigeria’s foundational identity database, enabling authorised institutions to access verified information securely through interoperability while maintaining strict data protection standards.
Aboho urged parents to register their children early, describing birth registration as a fundamental right that gave children access to essential services, including school enrolment.
Also speaking, Dr. Eyitayo Oyetunji, Federal Commissioner representing Oyo State and Director of Vital Registration, said birth registration for children aged zero to five years and death registration within the prescribed period remained free.
He urged Nigerians to register births and deaths promptly, saying timely registration provided critical population data needed for government planning and effective service delivery.
The Team Lead of Barnksforte Technology Limited, Mr. Dayo Bankole, said the platform was developed over two years to provide a secure and sustainable identity management system.
Bankole said every digitally registered newborn would automatically receive a National Identification Number (NIN), while the system would strengthen data sharing among authorised agencies and help combat child trafficking through verified identity linkage.
He added that the platform would automatically deactivate the NINs of deceased persons once their deaths were registered, reducing identity theft and financial fraud and supporting the update of the voter register.
According to him, the system is certified by the National Data Protection Commission and complies with International Organisation for Standardisation security standards to safeguard citizens’ data.
The Federal government commenced nationwide implementation of the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system and the VitalReg platform on July 1.
The initiative replaces the manual registration process with a fully digital system.
Birth registration at 57%, death registration below 20%
Meanwhile, the NPC also disclosed that birth registration coverage in Nigeria stands at 57 per cent, while death registration remains below 20 per cent, leaving millions of vital events undocumented annually.
Chairman of the commission, Dr. Aminu Yusuf, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at a news conference on the nationwide commencement of digital registration of births and deaths on the VitalReg platform under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system.
Yusuf said Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, but a significant proportion of births and deaths were never officially registered, denying millions of citizens legal identity and limiting reliable demographic data for national planning.
He added that “these gaps deprive many Nigerians of legal identity and limit the availability of reliable data needed for effective national planning.”
He described the nationwide rollout of the VitalReg platform as one of the most transformative reforms in Nigeria’s civil registration history, adding that the system had been operational across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory since July 1.
According to him, the platform will modernise birth and death registration by providing faster and efficient services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance, reduced paperwork and improved data validation.
Yusuf added that the platform would also enhance security, strengthen credibility of the national Civil Registration and Vital Statistics database and provide foundational database to support other national data systems.
He said the platform would secure interoperability with institutions across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem, thereby strengthening service delivery and supporting Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda.
The chairman said the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the 774 local government areas and was expanding the network to about 8,000 centres nationwide.
“The commission is also strengthening collaboration with key stakeholders to enhance the capacity of registration personnel and guarantee that all vital events are promptly and accurately recorded through the VitalReg platform,” he said.
Yusuf announced a partnership involving the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnfort Technologies Limited to decentralise birth registration and improve access to registration services at the community level.
He also announced a review of fees for specialised administrative services, including record modification, certificate re-issuance, attestation and verification requests, while assuring Nigerians that birth registration and birth notification services would remain highly subsidised.
“Let me assure Nigerians that this review is not intended to create barriers to access. Birth registration and birth notification services remain highly subsidised, in line with the commission’s commitment to achieving universal registration,” he said.
Yusuf said that to guarantee reliability, security and nationwide availability, the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement with Barnksforte Technologies Ltd, a Nigerian IT solution provider serving as the commission’s technical partner.
He said that this would ensure continuous system availability, cybersecurity protection and technological improvements.
“The success of this historic reform depends on active participation of all stakeholders and every Nigerian.
“I, therefore, call on all stakeholders to continue working with the commission to ensure that all births and deaths are registered promptly.”