Thousands of Lagos residents seeking to enroll in the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) scheme have been left stranded for weeks following a persistent server failure that has crippled new registrations across the state.
Applicants told The PUNCH that officials at the NHIA office in Yaba have repeatedly turned them back, citing a system breakdown that prevents the retrieval and verification of applicants’ National Identification Numbers (NINs) — a mandatory requirement for registration.
Our correspondent observed long queues of residents who have spent hours waiting at the NHIA office over the past month, only to be informed that the registration process could not proceed due to ongoing technical issues.
“I went to the NHIA office in Yaba two weeks ago for registration and was told they stopped enrolling new applicants because of a server problem,” said one frustrated applicant. “Each time they try to register someone, the system doesn’t connect. Officials said every attempt to punch in commands incurs a charge, so repeated failures mean multiple deductions.”
The applicant alleged that the problem may be linked to a verification bottleneck involving the Nigeria Immigration Service, which cross-checks applicants’ NINs before enrolment can be completed.
Another Lagos resident said she had visited the NHIA office three times in two weeks without success.
“I was there last Thursday, last Friday, and again today (Tuesday), but the issue persists,” she said. “We’ve been told to fill out forms and wait until the problem is fixed, but no one knows when that will be.”
The disruptions come amid increased government efforts to expand health insurance coverage nationwide, leaving many Nigerians unable to access affordable healthcare through the NHIA scheme.
When contacted, Assistant Comptroller Akinsola Akinlabi, Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Immigration Service, denied that the agency had received any complaint from the NHIA.
“We do not have any operational relationship with the NHIA, so we did not receive any complaint from them,” Akinlabi said. “From our end, there has been no issue with NIN verification for passport applicants.”
Similarly, Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), dismissed claims that the commission’s servers were responsible for the disruption.
“Our server is not down. Maybe NHIA is having issues on their side and trying to blame it on us,” Adegoke told The PUNCH. “The Immigration Service, FRSC, and police all use our system, and everything is functioning normally. If others can access the database, why not NHIA?”
Adegoke added that the NIMC had not received any official communication from the NHIA regarding the incident.
“They haven’t reached out to us. If they claim they did, they should show evidence,” he said. “Our system runs 24/7, and if we ever experience a challenge, we inform Nigerians immediately. There is no downtime on our end.”
Efforts to reach Emmanuel Ononokpono, Acting Director and Head of Media and Public Relations at NHIA, for comments were unsuccessful as calls, text messages, and WhatsApp inquiries to his mobile line were not answered as of press time.
