10/08/2026
FULL STATEMENT DELIVERED BY DR. AMINU YUSUF, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION, AT THE MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE COMMEMORATION OF THE 2026 AFRICA CIVIL REGISTRATION AND VITAL STATISTICS (CRVS) DAY AND NIGERIA'S TRANSITION TO A FULLY DIGITAL CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM
Protocols.
It is my honour to address the media today as we commemorate the 2026 Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day. This annual observance was recommended by the African Ministers Responsible for Civil Registration at their meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania, in December 2017 and subsequently endorsed by the African Union Executive Council in January 2018. Since then, Nigeria, through the National Population Commission, has faithfully joined other African countries in marking this important occasion.
The theme for this year's celebration, adopted at the 2026 Annual Expert Group Meeting for African Registrars General, is: "New CRVS Decade (2026–2036): Consolidating the Gains of APAI-CRVS and Securing the Future of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Africa through Integration, Decentralization and Digitalization."
This theme reflects Nigeria's current reform agenda and underscores our commitment to building an integrated, inclusive and technology-driven civil registration system.
Nigeria's alignment to this continental agenda is already evident in its action. On 1 July 2026, the National Population Commission officially launched the nationwide fully digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system on the VitalReg platform, marking the end of manual registration and the beginning of a new era of technology-driven civil registration across the country.
This landmark transition places Nigeria among the leading African countries translating the aspirations of the New CRVS Decade into concrete results. It demonstrates our resolve to build an integrated, decentralized and fully digital registration system that guarantees secure, timely and reliable recording of every birth, death and other vital event, while providing the high-quality data required for effective governance, national planning and sustainable development.
The nationwide deployment of the digital CRVS system is more than a technological milestone; it represents a fundamental transformation in the way civil registration services are delivered in Nigeria. By replacing fragmented, paper-based processes with an integrated digital platform, the National Population Commission has significantly enhanced the quality, efficiency, security and reliability of civil registration and vital statistics. This transformation is already delivering tangible benefits.
First, digital technology has revolutionized data storage. Vital records are now securely maintained in centralized electronic repositories, protecting them against loss, damage and unauthorized alteration that often affected manual records.
Second, interoperability has improved considerably. The digital platform interfaces seamlessly with other national systems, including health institutions, identity management agencies, planning bodies and statistical institutions, thereby strengthening Nigeria's national data ecosystem.
Third, access to registration services has become easier and more convenient. Citizens can increasingly register vital events and obtain certificates with fewer barriers of distance, bureaucracy and delay, particularly those living in rural and underserved communities.
Fourth, the system significantly reduces duplication through automated verification processes and the use of unique identifiers, thereby safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the national database.
Finally, digitalization enables the timely production and dissemination of vital statistics. Reliable data on births, deaths, marriages and other vital events can now be generated more quickly to support evidence-based planning, efficient service delivery and informed decision-making at all levels of government.
These advancements extend far beyond technological innovation. They strengthen transparency, accountability and the rule of law while providing policymakers, development partners and investors with reliable demographic data for national planning, equitable resource allocation, infrastructure development and the expansion of social protection programmes.
Ultimately, a robust digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system is an indispensable foundation for good governance and sustainable national development.
Notwithstanding these significant achievements, considerable challenges remain. More than five million children are born in Nigeria every year. According to the most recent Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), only about 40 per cent of births are registered, while death registration coverage remains unacceptably low.
These statistics underscore the urgent need to accelerate registration coverage through sustained public awareness, stronger partnerships and increased community participation. Every birth, every death and every other vital event must be captured in the electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (e-CRVS) system if Nigeria is to build a complete, reliable and actionable national database.
In recognizing that universal civil registration cannot be achieved by government alone, the National Population Commission has adopted a broad partnership approach that places collaboration at the heart of civil registration reform.
In January 2025, the Commission entered into a landmark Partnership Compact Agreement with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Bankforte Technologies Limited (BTL) to decentralize civil registration services, strengthen interoperability and expand access to digital registration at the grassroots.
The Commission is also working closely with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), State Governments, health institutions and other strategic partners to integrate birth registration into routine health services, ensuring that every child is registered as close as possible to the point of birth.
As part of this decentralization drive, the Commission is taking civil registration services closer to the people, particularly those in underserved and hard-to-reach communities. Out of the 8,809 wards across the country, the Partnership Compact has already extended digital civil registration services to about 4,000 wards. Work is progressing steadily to expand this coverage to all wards nationwide, ensuring that every Nigerian, irrespective of location, has convenient access to civil registration services.
Complementing this initiative, the National Population Commission has established over 4,000 functional registration centers across Nigeria's 774 Local Government Areas and has commenced an ambitious expansion programme that will increase the network to approximately 8,000 registration centers nationwide.
Combined with the nationwide deployment of the VitalReg platform, this expansion will bring registration services much closer to communities, reduce the time and cost of accessing registration services and ensure that no child or vital event is excluded because of distance or lack of access.
As we embark on the New CRVS Decade (2026–2036), Nigeria remains firmly committed to consolidating the gains of the Africa Programme on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS).
We will continue to strengthen integration across government institutions, decentralize registration services to the grassroots, deepen digital transformation and forge stronger partnerships that will ensure every Nigerian is counted and every vital event is recorded.
Distinguished members of the Press, your role in this national task is both strategic and indispensable. As the bridge between government and the people, you possess the unique capacity to inform, educate and mobilize citizens.
We therefore count on your partnership in the successful implementation of the CRVS reform agenda by sustaining public enlightenment on the importance of birth and death registration, highlighting the availability of our digital registration services and amplifying the message that civil registration is not merely a legal obligation but the foundation of legal identity, access to services, the protection of rights and national development.
Your continued support will be instrumental in changing attitudes, dispelling misconceptions and encouraging families across the country to register every birth, death and other vital event promptly.
I also call on State Governments, Local Government Authorities, traditional and religious institutions, health facilities, development partners, civil society organizations, community-based organizations and the private sector to continue supporting the National Population Commission in strengthening the digital Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Together, through sustained advocacy, strategic investment and shared commitment, we can close the registration gap, strengthen public confidence in the system and ensure that no Nigerian is left behind.
As we commemorate the 2026 Africa Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Day, let us renew our collective determination to building a fully digital, integrated and decentralized Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system that is efficient, secure, transparent and accessible to all. Together, we can ensure that every life counts because every vital event counts.
I thank you for your attention and for your continued partnership in advancing this important national endeavor.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr. Aminu Yusuf (Talban Wushishi)
Chairman, National Population Commission