The Federal Government has approved a framework for a national digital addressing system designed to improve how individuals, businesses and properties are identified and located across Nigeria.
The National Addressing Council (NAC) ratified the framework at a meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima in Abuja on Monday, advancing efforts to modernise the country’s addressing infrastructure.
The proposed system is expected to support identity management, commerce, public service delivery, security, logistics, financial inclusion and national planning by providing a reliable and standardised way of identifying locations across the country.
The Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will serve as the secretariat of the council and coordinate technical implementation, interoperability standards and systems integration.
Under the framework, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will oversee identity verification and authentication, while the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will support the verification of business addresses.
The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) will manage postcode administration and postal infrastructure as part of the national addressing framework.
State governments and local government councils will drive implementation at the community level through the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
Other institutions involved include the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and private-sector operators.
Speaking at the meeting, Vice President Shettima said the initiative was aligned with the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and would help address gaps in Nigeria’s addressing infrastructure.
He said a reliable addressing system would strengthen the connection between citizens, businesses and government institutions while improving planning, commerce, security and social intervention programmes.
The government also plans to integrate the addressing framework with identity management systems, government databases and other digital public infrastructure.
According to Shettima, linking verified identities with verified addresses could improve financial inclusion, social interventions, logistics, national planning and emergency response.
Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said the initiative could also improve investor confidence by making address verification and location-based services more reliable.
The renewed push comes ahead of the Federal Government’s planned rollout of a digital postcode system.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, recently disclosed that Nigeria plans to launch a GIS-enabled alphanumeric digital postcode system by October 2026.
The proposed system is expected to assign a unique digital code to every building in the country, including properties in rural and underserved communities.
The system is expected to provide a more accurate national addressing database that can be used across government and private-sector platforms.
For businesses, the framework could improve address verification for financial services, logistics, e-commerce, insurance, taxation and other location-dependent services.
The National Addressing Council was inaugurated in September 2017 under former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to provide strategic direction for the development of Nigeria’s national addressing system
