Nov. 12, 2024

The National Population Commission (NPC) says it will operate the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system in 141 centres in Lagos State.

The Federal Commissioner, NPC, Lagos State, Mrs Saidat Oladunjoye, made this known during the news conference on Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) System, on Tuesday in Lagos.

Oladunjoye said that NPC had embarked on a journey towards modernisation and efficiency, through the introduction of the E-CRVS system in Lagos State and Nigeria in general.

She said the initiative, not only represented a significant step toward improving the quality of life for the citizens, but underscored government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and data-driven decision-making.

Oladunjoye described civil registration as the bedrock of any functional society, as it provided the legal foundation for the identity of individuals, and served as the first step in accessing health care, education, employment, and other social services.

She said that civil registration was about ensuring that every Nigerian was recognised as a member of the society with rights, responsibilities, and access to essential services.

According to her, on Aug. 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu unveiled the E-CRVS system, which is fully supported by UNICEF and propelled by Bankforte Technologies (a private technology company).

“The introduction of the electronic system has simplified the process of registration and further made the process a self-service system. Since the national launch, the E-CRVS System has taken off in Lagos State.

“The NPC office in Lagos State is operating 141 registration centres spread across the LGAs/LCDAs, ensuring that at least there are four centres in each LGA.

“All the centres were being operated manually, with informants coming up to notify the Registrar about occurrence of an event before being registered.

“However, the new electronic civil registration system will digitise the processes of birth and death registration, still-births, marriage licenses, and other vital events, thereby enabling faster, more efficient, and more secure registrations,” she said.

Oladunjoye said the benefits of the electronic system extended beyond merely improving registration processes, as it had the potential to transform data governance and public service delivery in the country, through enhanced policy formulation.

She said that E-CRVS would ensure economic growth and development, as by providing a framework for legal identification, the system could facilitate access to banking, insurance, and other financial services for millions of Nigerians, driving economic inclusion and entrepreneurship.

According to her, the electronic system will ensure social justice and equity, as it will help to ensure that marginalised and vulnerable populations, such as women, children and the rural poor, are not necessarily left behind due to no fault from their side.

“Everyone deserves recognition, and no one should be invisible in their own country, because an unregistered person is an unknown individual to the government.

“Let us embrace this bold step towards a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous Nigeria,” she said.

The NPC Lagos State Director, Mr Bamidele Sadiku, said the commission had trained over 2,000 ad-hoc staff that would help to facilitate the electronic registration across the local governments in Lagos State. (NAN)