The National Population Commission (NPC) has announced the discontinuation of manual registration of births and deaths across Nigeria, warning that certificates issued outside its new electronic platform will no longer be recognised.
The Commission said the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) digital platform, which became operational on July 1, 2026, would now serve as the only approved channel for birth and death registrations nationwide.
The Federal Commissioner representing Abia State in the NPC, Rev. Emma Trumps Eke, disclosed this on Monday in Umuahia during a briefing to mark the 2026 World Population Day and the nationwide rollout of the digital platform.
Eke said the transition to a fully digital system would enable real-time registration, improve national planning, strengthen identity management and reduce fraud associated with manual documentation.
“Anybody giving you manual registration is leading you into trouble. We have stopped everything about manual registration. From now on, every registration must be digital and captured in real time,” he said.
He warned that any NPC official found issuing manual certificates after the commencement of the digital platform would face disciplinary action, including suspension or dismissal.
The commissioner explained that the new database would interface with agencies such as the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Immigration Service and Federal Road Safety Corps, making birth records easily verifiable for passports, driver’s licences, bank accounts and other official transactions.
He said citizens could now register births online through a self-service portal, with applications authenticated within 72 hours, while registration centres remained available at local government offices and health facilities nationwide.
Eke stressed that reliable population data was essential for effective national development, noting that governments depend on demographic information for planning schools, hospitals, industries, employment programmes and emergency interventions.
He also disclosed that preparations for a national population and housing census had reached an advanced stage before the exercise was suspended in 2023 due to election transition issues and subsequent economic challenges.
According to him, the Commission expects the next census to hold after the 2027 general elections, expressing optimism that President Bola Tinubu could approve the exercise in 2028.
Earlier, the Abia State Director of NPC, Mrs. Joyce Ogwuruike, described the digital registration system as a major shift from more than three decades of paper-based documentation to electronic record keeping.
She urged parents to register their children before the age of five, warning that delayed registration could affect development planning and access to child-focused interventions, including immunisation and other government-supported programmes.
Also speaking, the representative of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Kingsley Ukanwoke, described the initiative as a landmark reform that would guarantee Nigerians legal identity while providing government with accurate data for planning.
He pledged the agency’s support in sensitising citizens and encouraging nationwide adoption of the electronic registration system.
