By Chibuzor Alli
The Federal Government has integrated the National Identification Number (NIN) of 15.65 million Nigerians into the National Social Register, but millions of households remain outside the latest data update, raising questions about the pace of efforts to strengthen beneficiary identification and social protection delivery.
Figures released by the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO) showed that 13.33 million households had been updated across 771 local government areas in 37 states as of October 2026, representing 63.13 per cent of the 21.11 million households on the register.
The figures leave approximately 7.78 million households, or 36.87 per cent of the registered total, yet to be covered by the reported update.
NASSCO announced the development in a post on its official X handle, saying the exercise was part of ongoing efforts to improve the quality of data used to identify poor and vulnerable Nigerians for social protection programmes.
“As of October 2026, we have successfully integrated the National Identification Number of over 15.6 million individuals into the National Social Register, with more than 13.3 million unique households updated across 771 Local Government Areas in 37 states,” the office stated.
It added, “These milestones reflect ongoing efforts by NASSCO and its state-level partners to strengthen data quality, improve beneficiary identification, and build a more transparent, inclusive, and responsive social protection system for vulnerable Nigerians.”
NIN Integration Covers Fewer Than One in Five Registered Individuals
A closer look at the figures reveals that NIN integration has yet to reach a substantial proportion of the people listed in the register.
The National Social Register contained 83,162,654 individuals and 21,114,531 households as of October 2026. However, the 15,653,374 individuals whose NINs had been integrated accounted for approximately 18.82 per cent of the total population recorded in the register.
The data also showed that 11,347,989 households had at least one member with a valid NIN linked to the register, representing about 53.74 per cent of all registered households.
The figures highlight an important distinction between updating household records and verifying individual identities. A household may have an updated record without every member having a verified NIN linked to the system.
Expanding the integration could strengthen beneficiary verification, improve the accuracy of household records and help reduce the risk of duplicate or inaccurate entries in programmes designed to support vulnerable Nigerians.
Ebonyi Leads as Delta Records Lowest Coverage
The pace of household record updates differs considerably across states, with Ebonyi recording the highest reported coverage and Delta the lowest.
Ebonyi topped the state rankings with 88.08 per cent coverage, followed by Enugu at 86.62 per cent and Kano at 86.18 per cent. Kogi and Ekiti also recorded relatively high rates of 80.61 per cent and 80.25 per cent, respectively.
Zamfara posted 78.74 per cent, while Bauchi recorded 78.16 per cent.
At the other end of the ranking, Delta recorded just 25.31 per cent, followed by Lagos at 35.36 per cent and Borno at 38.18 per cent. Sokoto and Oyo posted 41.61 per cent and 41.28 per cent, respectively.
The 62.77-percentage-point gap between Ebonyi and Delta illustrates the uneven progress of the household update exercise across the country.
Delta’s reported coverage was also 10.05 percentage points below Lagos, the second-lowest state in the figures provided.
The disparities underscore the importance of examining progress not only through national totals but also through state-level coverage, particularly where incomplete records could complicate efforts to identify eligible beneficiaries.
Cash Transfers Reach 10.46 Million Households
The data update comes amid the Federal Government’s ongoing cash transfer programme for poor and vulnerable households.
According to the World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update, the government had disbursed N658.9bn in direct cash transfers to 10.46 million poor and vulnerable households as of September 2026.
The World Bank has called for an expansion of the programme, more adequate payments and greater consistency in the delivery of assistance.
Improving the National Social Register could help strengthen the information used to identify beneficiaries. However, the extent to which better records translate into wider coverage and more reliable payments will depend on implementation and the effectiveness of the systems used to select and support eligible households.
With 36.87 per cent of registered households still outside the reported update, the latest figures point to the scale of the remaining work as the government seeks to improve the transparency, accuracy and reach of its social protection programmes.
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