The National Population Commission (NPC) has established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country as part of efforts to bring digital birth and death registration closer to Nigerians.

The NPC Federal Commissioner in Katsina State, Prof.

The commissioner said that the exercise commenced under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system.

Radda said that the centres were located across the 774 LGAs in the country, adding that the commission planned to increase the number to 8,000.

He said that the expansion was aimed at decentralising registration services, and bringing them closer to communities and improving the prompt and accurate documentation of vital events.

According to him, the nationwide digital registration exercise became operational on July 1, through the VitalReg platform, across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He described the initiative as a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to modernise civil registration, strengthen vital statistics and ensure accurate documentation of births and deaths.

The commissioner said that Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, but millions of births and deaths still remain unregistered.

He said that birth registration coverage currently stood at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remained below 20 per cent.

Radda said that the low registration rates deprived many Nigerians of legal identity and limited the availability of reliable demographic data needed for effective planning and governance.

He said that the VitalReg platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, reduced paperwork and waiting time, and little or no need for physical travel.

“The digital transformation is part of the commission’s commitment to leveraging technology to improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and support evidence-based national planning,” the commissioner said.

He said that VitalReg had been designed for secure interoperability with government institutions within Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem.

According to him, the development would strengthen service delivery and support the Federal Government’s broader digital transformation and national identity management agenda.

He said that NPC had signed a partnership agreement with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), UNICEF and Barnksforte Technologies Ltd. on the decentralisation and localisation of birth registration and legal identity.

Radda said the partnership was aimed at taking registration services closer to communities; improving operational efficiency; and strengthening grassroots participation in civil registration.

He, however, stressed that birth registration and birth notification services remained highly subsidised.

The commissioner said that the digital registration system was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement with Barnksforte Technologies Ltd., the Commission’s technical partner.

According to him, the arrangement will ensure continuous system availability, cybersecurity protection and regular technological improvements.

He also appreciated state governments, local government councils, development partners, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and the media for their support.

Radda said that the reforms would help Nigeria build a modern civil registration system capable of providing legal identity from birth, credible demographic data and stronger support for national development planning.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to address existing workforce imbalances and ensure the effective deployment of personnel across the commission.

The ICPC Chairman, Dr.

According to him, the commission will conduct a comprehensive audit of its workforce and structure to align personnel with its anti-corruption mandate.

The chairman noted that the exercise was necessary to ensure the effective deployment of personnel across the commission.

The audit, he said, was one of the most consequential internal exercises being undertaken by the commission.

Aliyu said that this would provide a verified basis for determining the appropriate workforce structure, skills, and deployment required to deliver on ICPC’s mandate effectively.

He explained that since the establishment of the commission in 2000 and the recruitment of its first 88 officers in 2002, recruitment had taken place at irregular intervals without a deliberate policy to ensure coherent workforce progression.

The chairman noted that this had resulted in an imbalance in the workforce, with a disproportionate concentration of middle and senior-level officers in some areas compared to personnel at the operational level.

He said the audit would therefore examine the commission’s approved structure alongside its actual workforce, deployment, and operational needs, with a view to identifying gaps and recommending appropriate interventions.

The chairman emphasised that the exercise must be guided by evidence rather than assumptions.

He stressed that recommendations should be based on verifiable institutional records, including case-tracking data, court schedules, petition registers, and other relevant operational records.

He also cautioned against relying solely on numerical ratios in determining workforce requirements, noting that the complexity of cases handled by the Commission and the need for specialised expertise must be taken into consideration.

Aliyu also stressed the need to strengthen the Commission’s law-enforcement culture, noting that ICPC’s institutional identity must consistently reflect its mandate as a law-enforcement and anti-corruption agency.

The chairman stressed that the exercise was not intended to victimise staff or reduce the workforce, but to ensure effective deployment, strengthen institutional capacity, and build a merit-based structure that supports the commission’s mandate.

In his remarks, the Secretary to the Commission, Clifford Oparaodu, commended the chairman for initiating the exercise, stressing that the commission must continue to move forward in strengthening its institutional capacity.

Oparaodu urged members of the Committee to give the assignment their best efforts and ensure that the objectives of the exercise are fully achieved.

 He appealed to the members to support the chairman and the management of the commission in finding practical and sustainable ways of strengthening the institution and leaving a lasting legacy for the commission.

The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Oche Godwin, who is the Chairman of the Committee, thanked the commission for finding them worthy and promised to bring to bear all principles of integrity and expertise on the assignment.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to urgently resolve health workers’ salary concerns to avert another industrial crisis in the nation’s health sector.

NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the call in a letter dated Aug.

The letter was made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ajaero expressed concern over delays in adjusting the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and resolving outstanding demands of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

He said JOHESU members had endured prolonged delays in spite of Memoranda of Understanding, terms of agreement and Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) reached with the government.

“Years after signing MoUs, terms of agreement and CBAs, in addition to promises and assurances from appropriate authorities, members of JOHESU have been ignored or abandoned,” Ajaero said.

The NLC president urged the government to immediately resume collective bargaining with JOHESU and direct the Presidential Committee on Salaries to address outstanding issues.

The NLC president urged the minister to ensure immediate resumption of collective bargaining negotiations and encourage the Presidential Committee on Salaries to address the outstanding issues.

He said the NLC was concerned about discriminatory practices and the human cost associated with prolonged industrial disputes in the health sector.

“It needs no telling that the consequences of a complete breakdown in negotiations are quite grave,” Ajaero said.

Ajaero said the appeal should not be interpreted as a threat, but warned that the NLC would fully support JOHESU if the union was compelled to take further action.

“We strongly urge that you do all that is within your power to ensure immediate resumption of the collective agreement negotiation,” he said.

He called on the government to demonstrate stronger commitment toward resolving the outstanding issues and preventing another industrial crisis in the health sector.