National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced fees that Nigerians are required to pay to modify the data on their National Identification Number (NIN).

NIMC last weekend disclosed that corrections can be made to name, date of birth, and phone numbers incorrectly registered with their NIN on a newly launched mobile application.

The application and online portal allows visitors to register to use the service.

Thereafter, it requests for visitors’ NIN, last name, and email address before launching the data modification channel.

NIMC did not initially announce a fee for the modification of data until seven days later amid complaints from users about technical glitches on the mobile application.

The commission said different fees for specific self-service options for modification of data – name, age, date of birth, phone number, and email address – on the NIN.

This is not the first time NIMC will list fees for different services that involve modification of data on NIN.

In 2021, NIMC announced that fees between N5,000 and N15,000 had to be paid to rectify incorrect data on NIN database.

The charge, according to NIMC regional coordinator in Alausa, Lagos at the time, Mrs Funmi Opensanwo, varies from correction of details like name, address, card renewal or replacement and date of birth.

“The money we charge is for modification fee,” Opensanwo said on Channels TV in January 2021.

“For the date of birth correction, the processing fee is N15,000. For card renewal or card replacement, there is a processing fee of N5,000.

“For a modification of your name and address, there is a fee of N5,000.”

She noted that the fees “are for services and (things) to be corrected. They are payable to the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and not to anybody.”

Modifying data on NIN has been challenging for Nigerians. Hundreds of people besiege NIMC offices in different parts of the country to either register for the NIN or requesting to correct their data.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has mandated banks to compel bank account owners to link their NIN to their banking data or risk having the accounts suspended.

The Guardian