from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE launch of Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (e-CRVS) is hailed as a landmark move enhancing Nigeria’s civil registration and statistics system.
It has been launched alongside the National Geospatial Data Repository, as part of efforts by the government towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for legal identity for all.
President Bola Tinubu, at the launch, described eCRVS the basic building block of an identity ecosystem.
He said this would become a vital source of identity data across federal agencies and security outfits in the West African country.
The system is poised to improve the ability of federal agencies to generate vital statistics on important population events and migration, further enabling the government to design well-tailored, effective and efficient policies that are capable of meeting the specific needs of Nigerians.
Tinubu said the current drive to re-position the registration system would provide the basis for the full attainment of the 2030 SDG targets in respect of real-time identity management and population data.
“Our population remains the greatest asset of the nation in the development process,” he said.
This is the largest population in Africa, estimated at 225 million.
The e-CRVS is to be central in the next census. Dates have not been set but the exercise was postponed earlier this year as the previous administration appealed for more time.
The last census was held in 2006.
However, Tinubu, in power since May, said the National Population Commission (NPC) had made substantial progress in its quest to deliver the first digital population and housing census.
“It is my hope that the result of the census will provide the nation with much-needed data for development planning and the enthronement of good governance,” he said.
The newly-established CRVS National Coordination Committee is tasked with steering the e-CRVS system.
Cristian Munduate, United Nations Children’s Fund representative in Nigeria, welcomed the developments.
“Digitising civil registration in Nigeria transcends technology. It’s a pledge to future generations,” the envoy said.
“Now, every child’s existence will be acknowledged, marking a new era where every significant life event informs our nation’s development.”
The initiatives align with the UN Legal Identity Agenda, advocating for a technological shift in data generation.
– CAJ News