The National Population Commission has introduced a digital platform that enables Nigerians living abroad to register births and deaths online from anywhere in the world, marking a major shift from the country’s long-standing paper-based civil registration system.
The Federal Commissioner representing Edo State at the commission, Tony Aiyejina, announced the development during a news conference in Benin on Friday.
He disclosed that the new digital registration system became operational nationwide on July 1, replacing the manual process that had been in use since 1988.
According to Aiyejina, the initiative is designed to make the registration of births and deaths faster, more secure and more efficient.
He explained that the transition to a digital platform aligns with global technological advancements and would improve the reliability of the commission’s services.
Aiyejina also revealed that existing paper records would be migrated into the new digital database to preserve vital registration records and ensure continuity.
He added that the platform would reduce processing delays, minimise errors, prevent duplicate registrations and fraudulent entries, while making record retrieval easier.
The commissioner stressed that accurate birth and death records are essential for national planning in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, housing, employment and social welfare.
He appealed to parents, healthcare workers, traditional institutions, religious organisations and other stakeholders to support the initiative by ensuring prompt registration of births and deaths.
Also speaking, the Edo State Director of the NPC, Agnes Ibadin, said the commission had commenced digital birth registration across health facilities in the state.
She explained that registrars now work closely with healthcare providers to capture birth records directly from health centres, particularly when mothers bring their children for immunisation.
According to her, the arrangement eliminates the need for residents of remote communities to travel long distances before registering newborns.
Ibadin noted that health facilities would serve as registration centres for surrounding communities, making civil registration more accessible and inclusive.
The event also featured a live demonstration of the commission’s new digital birth and death registration process.
