From October, Nigeria will begin rolling out a new digital address system that gives every home, shop, and landmark a unique code tied to exact map coordinates. The goal is to end the “turn left at the mosque” directions that have long frustrated deliveries, slowed emergency response, and made identity checks harder.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, announced the plan on Monday at a workshop in Abuja organized with the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST. He met with NIPOST Chief Executive Tola Odeyemi and security agency officials to review how the codes can improve coordination during emergencies and strengthen national security.
Tijani said the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System will make sure every Nigerian, business, and location can be found and linked within the country’s digital space. He described the project as one of the five major legacies his ministry has pursued in the last three years, along with Project BRIDGE for 90,000km of fibre cable, NUCAP to connect 20 million people through 3,700 telecom towers, the Nigeria Data Exchange, and ongoing work to build Nigeria’s artificial intelligence capacity.
The country has run a six-digit postcode since 1986, but most streets and buildings lack names or numbers, so the system barely functions. Plans to modernize it first appeared in 2009 under late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua but stalled. Since then, NIPOST tested what3words in 2017 and launched address verification tools in 2018, while Google introduced Plus Codes in 2020. None of them fixed the basic problem.
This time, progress looks more real. In March the Federal Executive Council approved a version powered by geographic information systems. Since then, NIPOST has been checking computer-generated boundaries against what actually exists on the ground, comparing crowded areas like Lagos’ Mushin with less built-up parts of Abuja. The October launch will start in a few states and local governments, not across the whole country at once.
According to Odeyemi, the challenge ahead is getting people to use the system, not building it. She told participants that awareness must now turn into action. Tijani said consultations with more stakeholders will continue before the official rollout, and he expects the new addresses to transform how services are delivered across Nigeria.