NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION ENUGU STATE KICKS OFF NATION-WIDE FULL DIGITAL BIRTH AND DEATH REGISTRATION
By Nkem Ossai
The Commissioner National Population Commission (NPC) Hon. Ejike Ezeh announced the take-off of the digital registration of births and deaths throughout the country.
In a press briefing, on Tuesday 6th August, 2026, Hon Ejike Ezeh noted that it is a milestone in Nigeria’s Historic Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) System.
The step he noted, is significant in our collective efforts to strengthen civil registration, enhance the generation of vital statistics and ensure that every birth and death occuring in Nigeria is captured through a modern, efficient and digitally enabled registration system.
On behalf of the National Population Commission, the Commissioner formally announced the full commencement of the exercise. The process, he further added, became effective on 1st July, 2026.
He said that it is transformative and now operational across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital, emphasizing that the historic launch of the E-CRV’s System and the inauguration of the National Coordination Committee on CRV’S by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), on 8th November 2023 is a build up to this initiative.
Explaining the importance attached to the program, Hon. Ejike Ezeh noted that the innovation is one of the transformative reforms in the history of civil registration in Nigeria. This he said, is because, it is modern, extensive effort and technology-driven. Furthermore, he explained that it meets international standards and supports Mr. President’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Responding to a reporters question on the Commission’s preparedness to tackle the challenges that may very likely arise from the exercise, the Director of National Population Commission Enugu State, Mrs. Janefrances Ugwu explained that the Commission has done a lot to take care of such challenges when and if they arise especially in the area of public sensitization which has already been going on.
Speaking further, Hon. Ejike explained that Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually but millions of this births and deaths go unregistered. He said birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 percent nationwide while death registration remains as low as 20 percent. These gaps he pointed out, deprive many Nigerians of legal identity and limit the availability of reliable data needed for effective national planning. In an effort to address this challenge, he stressed that the NPC has established 4,011 functional registration centers across the 774 LGA’s and is working to expand this network to about 8,000.
Full details of the Press Briefing follows.
