The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, Lere Olayinka, has called for stricter regulations on social media use in Nigeria.
In a statement shared on his X account on Monday, Olayinka proposed that Nigerians be required to provide their National Identification Number (NIN) along with a valid government-issued ID, such as an international passport, voter’s card, or driver’s license, before creating or managing any social media account.
He wrote: “NIN, Valid Identity Card (International Passport, Voter’s Card, Driver’s Licence). These two should be made compulsory to open and operate social media accounts. “
Linking social media accounts to verified identities would curb the spread of false information, echoing the role of the NIN system in phone registration and banking, where it already creates digital accountability.
In a country like Nigeria, where the NIN is mandatory for essential services, extending it to social media platforms would align with existing identity frameworks and make it more difficult for anonymous bots or fake profiles to operate.
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