ID4D: W’Bank Restructures $430m Project to Guarantee Financing as Nigeria Misses Deadline
The World Bank has said it is restructuring the Nigeria Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project to guarantee complete disbursement of the $430 million pledged for the project by the financiers.
According to the Bank, the restructuring became necessary as the co-financiers, the French Development Agency (AFD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have threatened to cancel their financing if the World Bank ceased to be the implementor of the project after June 30, 2024, initial closure date for the project.
Under the financing plan for the project, which was approved by the International Development Association (IDA) in 2020, AFD is to release $100 million and the EIB is to fund it with the sum of $215, while the IDA, an arm of the World Bank is to add $115 million.
“Both co-financers have indicated that they will cancel their financing if the World Bank is no longer the lead financier and implementor of this project.
“As such it is critical that the World Bank extend the closing date of the project to allow continuity across all co-financers and avoid any disruptions to good progress made so far and to safeguard the positive impact it has had on Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure,” the Bank said in the project’s document seen by Nairametrics.
With the restructuring of the project, the Bank said the closure has now been extended by two years to June 30, 2026.
It noted that the extension became necessary for the project to respond to the increasing demand for an inclusive and trusted digital ID system that will strengthen the transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness of governance and the delivery of public services and programs.
Aside from the enrolment target, under which the country was expected to have issued 148 million NIN by June 2024, Nigeria missed several technical benchmarks set for the project.
According to the Bank, key activities under Component 2 (Establishing a robust and inclusive foundational ID system) aimed at enhancing the resilience, security, and reliability of the Nigeria Identity Management System (NIMS) have experienced setbacks.
“For example, the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which processes all biometric data (fingerprint and facial), is almost at full capacity as it currently holds 80 million records.
“It is essential that the ABIS capacity is extended to accommodate 250 million enrollments considering that the Nigerian population is now 210 million,” the Bank stated.
It, however, noted that the associated system upgrade process has commenced and is estimated to be completed by March 2025.
While noting that the restructuring would allow the project to accommodate changes that reflect the latest realities and priorities of the government of Nigeria, the Bank announced critical changes to the focus of the project.
Under the restructured project, the Banking said launching some activities under subcomponent 2 is no longer realistic due to limited timelines, and as such a few activities would be cancelled.
“In that context, and considering the limited time and resources available, it is proposed that the following activities be cancelled: (i) collaborating to build links with a digitized civil registration (ii) conducting and financing a capacity assessment and institutional mapping of National Population Commission (iii) creating a national civil registration database with interoperability with the NIMS and (iv) the development of new mechanisms for continuous digital birth registration with NIN generation.
“The funding that was allocated to these activities will be utilized for the development of a new national identity management system (NIMS),” the Bank stated.
In addition, the Bank said Indicators related to the number of offices of the Nigerian Government abroad equipped to register Nigerians for NIN will be deleted as the Government is now prioritizing issuing NIN within Nigeria in order to ensure access to services for the poor and vulnerable.
SOURCE: Nairametrics
