Digital identity will track illegal miners– Alake
The Federal Government is seeking to deploy digital identity technology to track mining operators, strengthen regulation and curb insecurity in the solid minerals sector.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, stated this when he received the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, and her management team on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, Lara Owoeye-Wise, the ministry and NIMC are exploring deeper collaboration to promote digital identity, strengthen governance and accelerate reforms in the mining sector.
Alake described NIMC as a critical institution in Nigeria’s development architecture, stressing that effective governance, regulation and national planning could not be achieved without credible identity management and reliable data.
“NIMC occupies a critical position in translating policy into reality. It is pivotal to the development of any nation because governance today is driven by data, technology and credible identity systems,” the minister said.
He said the ongoing reforms in the solid minerals sector required stronger collaboration with agencies responsible for identity management, particularly in efforts to improve transparency, accountability and security across the mining value chain.
Alake said a credible identity system would make it easier for the government to identify and track operators, monitor mining activities and distinguish legitimate operators from those engaged in illegal activities.
Without identification, we cannot trace; we cannot track, and insecurity will flourish. In the solid minerals sector, we need effective tracking of both legal and illegal operations.
“A credible identity ecosystem will strengthen regulation, improve enforcement and support our efforts to sanitise the sector,” he said.
The minister identified technology, statistics, data gathering and digital identity as key tools for evidence-based policymaking, improved regulatory oversight, efficient licensing and investment promotion.
He said the availability of accurate and verifiable data would also help the government to better understand the activities of operators in the sector and design policies capable of supporting sustainable development.
The push for stronger digital identity integration comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to reform Nigeria’s solid minerals sector, which has continued to face challenges including illegal mining, weak monitoring of operators, insecurity and inadequate data on activities across the value chain.
The government has repeatedly said that better regulation, improved data and stronger enforcement are critical to unlocking the sector’s contribution to the economy and reducing the activities of illegal miners.
Earlier, Coker-Odusote highlighted several areas of possible collaboration between NIMC and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
She said the recently enacted NIMC Act 2026 had strengthened the legal framework for Nigeria’s digital identity ecosystem and created opportunities for deeper integration of identity management into government operations.
According to her, the integration of NIMC’s digital identity infrastructure into the solid minerals sector would support database integration across government agencies, improve regulatory compliance and strengthen security and law enforcement.
She also said it would enhance the monitoring of mining operators and provide stronger support for the implementation of Community Development Agreements in mining host communities.
Coker-Odusote said reliable digital identity would enable government institutions to build more accurate databases and improve service delivery and transparency in public administration.
She added that the new legal framework would accelerate secure identity verification, improve inter-agency data sharing and strengthen the ability of government agencies to deliver services to Nigerians and legal residents.
The NIMC boss said the commission’s infrastructure could support the creation of a more reliable identity ecosystem for the mining sector, helping regulators to verify operators and improve monitoring across the country.
Both institutions expressed their commitment to strengthening collaboration through technology-driven initiatives aimed at supporting the Ministry’s reforms and improving governance in the mining sector.
The partnership is also expected to contribute to improved security, greater transparency and stronger accountability in the management of Nigeria’s mineral resources.