The trained personnel will play a critical role in ensuring citizens can obtain recognised proof of address required to access services within their local government areas.
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Millions of Nigerians are set to experience easier access to public services, improved security coordination and more reliable civic data as the nationwide rollout of the Local Government Proof of Address system gathers pace, with over 10,000 Front-End Partners (FEPs) already trained to drive enrolment at the grassroots.
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), in a progress update on the initiative, said the large pool of trained FEPs, drawn from across the states of the federation, positions local governments to begin systematic address verification for residents as full activation approaches.
According to ALGON, the trained personnel will play a critical role in ensuring citizens can obtain recognised proof of address required to access services within their local government areas. The association added that continuous retraining and revalidation exercises would be conducted to ensure that all FEPs adhere strictly to approved operational standards.
On the legal framework underpinning the rollout, ALGON disclosed that 405 Local Government Areas have already enacted bye-laws making Proof of Address a mandatory requirement for accessing services within their jurisdictions. In addition, 20 states have formally adopted the Proof of Address bye-laws, providing subnational legal backing for implementation.
“The remaining states and Local Government Areas are actively engaging relevant stakeholders to pass the extant law and conclude the legal processes required for full nationwide adoption,” ALGON stated.
To ensure citizens across the country are adequately sensitised and that stakeholders are aligned, ALGON said engagement meetings were held in all six geopolitical zones. The South-West sensitisation took place on March 10, 2025, followed by the South-South on March 13 and the South-East on March 17, while a joint session for the North-West, North-East and North-Central zones was held on June 17, 2025.
As part of capacity building to support effective service delivery to residents, ALGON revealed that Local Government desk officers have been trained in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 300 desk officers, it said, have been screened and equipped to support the nationwide commencement of the project.
The association also disclosed that the verification framework has been strengthened through the adoption of 2,000 field verifiers, who will work alongside technology-driven solutions to authenticate residents not already captured in existing national and subnational databases. This measure, ALGON noted, is aimed at ensuring inclusivity so that no segment of the population is excluded from the system.
“The scale of training, legal adoption and deployment underscores the commitment of local governments to delivering a credible, inclusive and locally driven Proof of Address system,” ALGON said. It added that the initiative will “enhance service delivery, improve security coordination and strengthen data reliability across the country.”
The Proof of Address system is designed to establish a standardised and verifiable address database anchored at the local government level, with direct implications for citizens’ interaction with public institutions and the overall effectiveness of governance nationwide.