The NPC Federal Commissioner in Katsina State, Prof. Sadik Radda, disclosed this at a news briefing on Wednesday in Katsina, on the commencement of the exercise.
The commissioner said that the exercise commenced under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system.
Radda said that the centres were located across the 774 LGAs in the country, adding that the commission planned to increase the number to 8,000.
He said that the expansion was aimed at decentralising registration services, and bringing them closer to communities and improving the prompt and accurate documentation of vital events.
According to him, the nationwide digital registration exercise became operational on July 1, through the VitalReg platform, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
He described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to modernise civil registration, strengthen vital statistics and ensure accurate documentation of births and deaths.
The commissioner said that Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, but millions of births and deaths still remained unregistered.
He said that birth registration coverage currently stood at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remained below 20 per cent.
Radda said that the low registration rates deprived many Nigerians of legal identity and limited the availability of reliable demographic data needed for effective planning and governance.
He said that the VitalReg platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, reduced paperwork and waiting time, and little or no need for physical travel.
“The digital transformation is part of the commission’s commitment to leveraging technology to improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and support evidence-based national planning,” the commissioner said.
He said that VitalReg had been designed for secure interoperability with government institutions within Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.
According to him, the development would strengthen service delivery and support the Federal Government’s broader digital transformation and national identity management agenda.
He said that NPC had signed a partnership agreement with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnksforte Technologies Ltd. on the decentralisation and localisation of birth registration and legal identity.
Radda said the partnership was aimed at taking registration services closer to communities; improving operational efficiency; and strengthening grassroots participation in civil registration.
He, however, stressed that birth registration and birth notification services remained highly subsidised.
The commissioner said that the digital registration system was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement with Barnksforte Technologies Ltd., the Commission’s technical partner.
According to him, the arrangement will ensure continuous system availability, cybersecurity protection and regular technological improvements.
He also appreciated state governments, local government councils, development partners, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media for their support.
Radda said that the reforms would help Nigeria build a modern civil registration system capable of providing legal identity from birth, credible demographic data and stronger support for national development planning. (NAN)
