FG links NIMC, CAC, NIPOST to build national digital address system
The Federal Government is moving to build a digitised national addressing system linking identity, business and postal records, as it brings NIMC, CAC, NIPOST and other critical agencies into a coordinated framework aimed at improving financial inclusion, logistics, security and public-service delivery.
The National Addressing Council (NAC), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, ratified a preliminary framework for the initiative at a meeting in Abuja on Monday, marking a renewed effort to modernise Nigeria’s addressing infrastructure.
Under the framework, the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will serve as the Council’s secretariat and coordinate implementation, technical execution, and interoperability standards and systems integration.
Shettima said a functional national addressing system was essential to economic activity and effective government because businesses, citizens and public agencies must be able to locate people and properties accurately.
“Wherever a citizen lives, wherever a business operates, wherever help is required, Nigeria should find the address,” he said.
The Vice President said linking a verified identity to a verified address could deliver significant benefits across financial inclusion, social interventions, logistics, national planning and emergency response.
He also stressed that the digital framework must integrate with existing identity systems, government databases and other digital public infrastructure while maintaining privacy safeguards.
Under the proposed structure, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will be responsible for identity verification and authentication, while the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will support verification of business addresses.
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) will oversee postcode administration and postal infrastructure.
State governments and local government councils, working through the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, will drive implementation at community level.
Other agencies expected to participate include the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Office of the National Security Adviser, Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian Communications Commission, alongside private-sector operators.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said a reliable national addressing system would also strengthen investor confidence by improving the accuracy of address verification and location-based services.
The initiative could have wide economic implications for businesses that depend on accurate customer locations, including banks, fintechs, e-commerce platforms, logistics companies, insurers and other service providers.
A reliable address database could also improve credit assessment, customer verification, delivery systems, taxation, and emergency response and government social programmes by reducing the difficulty of identifying where individuals and businesses are located.
The renewed effort builds on the National Addressing Council, which was first inaugurated in September 2017 to provide strategic direction for Nigeria’s National Addressing System.
The latest initiative also aligns with the Federal Government’s broader digital-infrastructure push.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, recently disclosed plans to launch a GIS-enabled alphanumeric digital postcode system by October 2026.
The proposed system is expected to assign a unique digital code to buildings nationwide, including properties in rural and underserved communities.
For Nigeria, the economic significance of the project lies in turning physical locations into reliable digital data that can connect people, businesses and government systems.
If implemented effectively, the framework could strengthen the country’s digital public infrastructure and reduce one of the long-standing barriers to commerce: the inability to reliably identify where customers, businesses and properties are located.
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