Shettima chairs NAC as Nigeria moves to build digital addressing system

Abdullateef Fowewe

The National Addressing Council (NAC) has ratified a preliminary framework for the development of a digitised, modern national addressing system designed to improve service delivery, security, planning, financial inclusion and emergency response across Nigeria.

The decision according to a statement obtained on Tuesday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President) was reached at a council meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima on Monday in Abuja, with the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation named as the secretariat of the council.

Shettima said the initiative aligns with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is intended to create institutions suited to the realities of a mobile and entrepreneurial population.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda, our duty is to build institutions that match the energy and mobility of our people.

“We must build a system that locates every community, supports enterprise without barriers and strengthens government without compromising privacy,” the Vice President said.

He said the objective was for every Nigerian, business and community to be easily identifiable through a trusted national addressing framework.

“Wherever a citizen lives, wherever a business operates, wherever help is required, Nigeria should find the address.

“This is the standard before us and I am confident that the council will deliver,” Shettima said.

The Vice President described an address as more than a location, saying it serves as a vital connection between citizens, businesses, government services and opportunities.

“A country that cannot consistently locate its people and businesses carries an avoidable weakness into planning, commerce, security and social protection,” he said.

Shettima said the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation would oversee technical implementation, systems integration, interoperability and standards as NAC secretariat.

The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, will handle individual address verification and authentication, while the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, will support business-address verification.

The Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, will continue to oversee postcode administration and postal infrastructure.

He added that state governments and local government councils, through the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, would drive implementation at community level.

“No institution can own a system whose usefulness depends on participation across our federation,” Shettima said.

The Vice President said the new framework must work with digital identity systems, government databases and other digital public infrastructure, while protecting citizens’ privacy.

“When a verified identity can be linked securely to a verified address, the gains extend across financial inclusion, social interventions, logistics, planning and emergency response,” he said.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the addressing initiative was foundational to Nigeria’s economic transformation, particularly because of its potential to support entrepreneurs and boost investor confidence.

“It is no more business as usual but business unusual,” Tunji-Ojo said, urging members of the council to give their best to the project.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, said the new coordination mechanism had moved the initiative from “crisis management” to synergy and collaboration among relevant agencies.

“We are now working as one nation and one people focused on doing this very critical assignment that should have been done decades ago — standardising address, proof of address and digital address,” Udeh said.

NIMC Director-General, Dr Abisoye Coker, said lack of coordination and disagreements among agencies had initially hindered the project, but noted that the Office of the Vice President had helped harmonise the process.

ALGON President, Bello Lawal, said the system would improve national security, citizen identification, local planning, revenue generation and financial inclusion.

“It will ensure that every Nigerian is accounted for within their local communities,” Lawal said.

Special Assistant to the President on ICT Policy in the Office of the Vice President, Dr Salihu Ibrahim-Dasuki, said the National Addressing Policy of 2017 had become outdated due to institutional, constitutional, statutory and technological changes.

He said the existing framework focused mainly on mail delivery, postcodes and postal infrastructure, while leaving gaps in areas including business address verification and citizen-address authentication.

Technical teams from NIPOST, NIMC and ALGON also made presentations at the meeting, which was attended by representatives of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NITDA, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, fintech firms and other private-sector stakeholders.