The Federal Government has integrated the National Identification Number of 15.65 million Nigerians into the National Social Register, as efforts to improve the identification of poor and vulnerable households continue amid calls for wider coverage and more reliable cash transfers.
The National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office disclosed this in a post on its official X handle obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday, stating that more than 13.3 million unique households had been updated across 771 local government areas in 37 states as of October 2026.
The development comes as the Federal Government reports disbursing N658.9bn in direct cash transfers to 10.46 million poor and vulnerable households as of September 2026, according to the World Bank’s latest Nigeria Development Update.
The bank has urged the government to expand the programme, improve the adequacy of payments and ensure beneficiaries receive assistance more consistently.
NASSCO said the latest figures reflected efforts to strengthen the quality of data used to identify beneficiaries and improve the transparency of 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.”
Figures released by the office showed that Nigeria’s National Social Register contained 21,114,531 households and 83,162,654 individuals as of October.
Of the total households, 13,330,387 had been updated, representing 63.13 per cent coverage. This means that about 7.78 million households, or 36.87 per cent of the registered total, were yet to be covered by the reported update.
The figures also showed that 11,347,989 households had at least one member with a valid NIN integrated into the register. This represents approximately 53.74 per cent of all households on the register.
The 15,653,374 individuals whose NINs had been integrated represent about 18.82 per cent of the 83.16 million people listed in the register.
The distinction between updated households and households with at least one NIN is significant because updating household records does not necessarily mean that every member has a verified identification number. Wider integration could help improve beneficiary verification and reduce the risk of duplicate or inaccurate records.
A state-by-state breakdown showed significant differences in coverage. Ebonyi State recorded the highest rate at 88.08 per cent, followed by Enugu at 86.62 per cent and Kano at 86.18 per cent.
Other states with relatively high coverage included Kogi at 80.61 per cent, Ekiti at 80.25 per cent, Zamfara at 78.74 per cent and Bauchi at 78.16 per cent.
Delta State had the lowest reported coverage at 25.31 per cent, followed by Lagos at 35.36 per cent and Borno at 38.18 per cent. Sokoto recorded 41.61 per cent, while Oyo posted 41.28 per cent.
The state-by-state figures reveal a wide disparity in the Federal Government’s efforts to update household records in the National Social Register, with coverage ranging from 25.31 per cent in Delta State to 88.08 per cent in Ebonyi State. The difference of 62.77 percentage points between the two states highlights the uneven pace of the exercise across the country.
Ebonyi led the country with 88.08 per cent coverage, followed by Enugu at 86.62 per cent and Kano at 86.18 per cent. This placed the three states at the top of the national ranking, with each having updated records for more than 86 per cent of households covered by the exercise. The figures suggest stronger progress in household data updates in these states than in most other parts of the country.
Delta State ranked last, with coverage of just 25.31 per cent. This means that the reported update had reached approximately one in every four households covered by the state’s exercise. The figure was 10.05 percentage points below Lagos, the second-lowest state, and 62.77 percentage points below Ebonyi, the national leader.