Population Commission establishes 4,011 digital birth, death registration centres nationwide

The National Population Commission, NPC, has established 4,011 digital registration centres across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas to electronically register births and deaths.

The move is part of efforts to modernise the country’s civil registration system.

The Federal Commissioner representing Cross River State at the NPC, Barrister Alex Ukam, disclosed this during a press briefing in Calabar on Thursday.

Representing the NPC Chairman, Dr Aminu Ibrahim Yusuf, Ukam said the digital registration exercise commenced on July 1, 2026, with plans already underway to expand the number of registration centres to 8,000 across the country.

He said the initiative marks the full implementation of Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, CRVS, system, which is designed to ensure that births and deaths are registered promptly, accurately and electronically.

According to him, the new platform will replace the largely manual process, offering 24-hour online services, faster processing, reduced paperwork, digital certificates where applicable, and improved accuracy in record-keeping.

“The system will serve as a foundational database that supports other national data systems and has been designed for secure interoperability with government institutions across Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem,” he said.

Ukam added that the commission would collaborate with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other stakeholders to facilitate seamless data capture at the community level, describing the initiative as part of the Federal Government’s broader digital transformation agenda.

He said the objective is to build a modern civil registration system that guarantees every Nigerian a legal identity from birth, provides reliable demographic data for national development and supports evidence-based planning.

The commissioner disclosed that the NPC would review fees for some specialised administrative services following the introduction of the digital platform.

He also revealed that the commission would soon begin processing change-of-name applications, although the framework is still undergoing legal review.