By Kelvin Obambon
The National Population Commission (NPC) on Thursday announced the full nationwide rollout of digital birth and death registration through the VitalReg platform, a move the Commission says will modernize Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system and improve access to identity services.
The announcement was made by Dr Aminu Yusuf, NPC Chairman, through the Honourable Federal Commissioner representing Cross River, Rt. Hon. Alex Ukam, at the Commission’s state office in Calabar. The Commission said the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E‑CRVS) system became operational across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on 1 July 2026.
The NPC described the launch as a “historic milestone” that builds on the initial November 8, 2023, launch of the E‑CRVS system by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the inauguration of a National Coordination Committee on CRVS. The Commission said the digital transition is intended to strengthen civil registration, enhance vital statistics production, and ensure every birth and death is accurately recorded and securely stored.
Dr. Yusuf highlighted persistent gaps in registration, stating that “Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, but nationwide birth registration coverage is roughly 57 percent while death registration is below 20 percent.” The NPC said these shortfalls deny many Nigerians legal identity and undermine reliable data for planning.
To close the gap, Chairman disclosed that the Commission has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and plans to expand to about 8,000 centres. He also stressed training and stakeholder collaboration to ensure prompt, accurate registration through VitalReg.
According to the NPC, “the VitalReg platform will provide 24‑hour online access to registration services and digital certificate issuance where applicable; reduce paperwork, waiting times, and unnecessary travel; improve data accuracy via automated validation and strengthen the national CRVS database; enable secure interoperability with other government digital identity systems,” among others.
The Commission stated that VitalReg will be operated under a public‑private partnership with Nigerian IT firm, Barnksforte Technologies Ltd, which will provide technical support, cybersecurity protection, and continuous system improvements.
To sustain the service, Dr. Yusuf announced a review of fees for certain specialized administrative services, including record modifications, certificate reissuance, attestations, and verification requests. He emphasized that birth registration and date of birth modification services remain highly subsidized and that the fee changes are not intended to create barriers to access.
He also revealed that the NPC has signed a partnership compact on decentralization and localization of birth registration with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF, and Barnksforte Technologies Ltd. The alliance, according to him, aims to bring services closer to communities, improve accessibility and data quality, and integrate civil registration with broader national identity efforts.
Dr. Yusuf however called on state and local governments, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, development partners and the media to support the rollout and ensure all vital events are promptly recorded. He thanked state governments, local councils, development partners (notably UNFPA), the NPC press corps and staff nationwide for their roles in advancing civil registration.
Earlier this month, during the commemoration of the 2026 World Population Day, the NPC in collaboration with UNFPA underscored the importance of population data for policymaking. The Commission stressed that accurate CRVS data will help shape policies affecting Nigeria’s large youth population and support evidence‑based planning.
The Commission said services will progressively migrate to the VitalReg platform and urged Nigerians to take advantage of the digital system. It believes that successful implementation will depend on broad stakeholder participation and continued investment in decentralised registration infrastructure.
