E- birth registration: NPC registers 185,307 children in Kogi

Mrs. Ralie Omattah, Head of Vital Registration, National Population Census (NPC), says a total of 185, 307 children have been registered in an ongoing e-birth registration across the 21 local government areas of Kogi.

Omattah said this at a media briefing and stakeholder sensitisation meeting on Thursday in Lokoja.

Supreme News reports that the event was organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with the National Population Census (NPC).

Omattah said that the e-birth registration had commenced in Kogi since August, with UNICEF targeting 211,314 children in the state.

“Our collaboration with NOA is to enhance statewide e-birth registration coverage to meet and surpass the target of 211,314 children in Kogi given to us by UNICEF.

“As of yesterday, November 20, we have registered a total of 185, 307 children across the 21 local government areas of Kogi.

“By this collaboration with NOA, I am optimistic that we will surpass the UNICEF target by the December 2024 deadline,” Omattah said.

She commended NOA and other stakeholders for the partnership.

She stressed the need to address the challenges of the National Identification Number (NIN) as well as the refusal of some parents to allow their children to be captured, especially in rural areas.

Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director-General of NOA, said that birth registration remained the first legal acknowledgement of a child’s existence, essential for safeguarding their rights and privileges.

Issa-Onilu, who was represented by Mr. Patrick Edogbanya, the acting State Director of NOA, said the e-birth registration exercise was in collaboration with NPC and sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

He said NOA was committed to its course as part of its mandate to ensure that everybody was sensitised on the significance and benefits of e-birth registration.

The DG noted that the exercise had been on for over three years in the country.

He noted that 10 out of the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in Kogi had been sensitised in the first phase, adding that the second phase, which commenced on Thursday, would cover the remaining 11 LGAs, including Lokoja.

The NOA DG emphasised that e-birth registration has numerous benefits to the individual, government, and global impact by enhancing global cooperation and data sharing.

“By transitioning to e-birth registration, countries can improve the efficiency, accuracy, and security of vital event recording, ultimately benefiting individuals, governments, and society as a whole,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr. Paul Popoola, the State Coordinator of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), said the commission was ready to collaborate with NOA, NPC, and other relevant agencies.

Popoola, who was represented by Mr. Olusegun Jeminiwa, Assistant . Chief Identity Officers, said NIMC is a critical agency responsible for managing Nigeria’s identity ecosystem.

He disclosed that over 120 million Nigerians had been captured on the NIMC database out of the estimated over 300 million Nigerians’ population.

He, therefore, urged the media and relevant stakeholders to help in sensitising the general public to come out and register, stressing that a dayold child could also register.

Supreme News reports that the stakeholders at the meeting include: youth and women groups, religious, traditional, and community leaders, people with disabilities (PWDs), NGOs, CSOs, and the media, among others.