Ukorebi Esien | September 10, 2026
CALABAR — The National Orientation Agency, NOA, has expressed readiness to engage the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and other relevant stakeholders over concerns surrounding the proposed National Learner Identification Number, LIN.
The Director-General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, stated this while responding to the allegation by NANS that the Agency was overstepping its statutory mandate by becoming involved in the proposed learner identification system.
NANS, in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Akinteye Babatunde Afeez, had rejected the proposed LIN, describing it as unnecessary and potentially duplicative of the National Identification Number, NIN.
The students’ body also questioned NOA’s involvement in the initiative, alleging that the Agency was championing an identification system outside its statutory responsibilities.
However, Issa-Onilu clarified that NOA is neither the originator nor the implementing agency of the LIN initiative, explaining that the Agency’s involvement is limited to communicating government policies, programmes and activities to citizens.
According to him, NOA’s mandate extends across Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government and is not restricted to policies or programmes formulated or implemented by the Agency itself.
He said the distinction between policy formulation, implementation and public communication was important in understanding NOA’s role in the LIN discussion.
The DG explained that while the relevant authorities remain responsible for the formulation and implementation of the learner identification initiative, NOA is mandated to ensure that Nigerians receive accurate and understandable information about government policies and programmes.
He added that the Agency also provides platforms for citizens to express their views, concerns and reactions to government policies.
Issa-Onilu said such two-way communication was central to NOA’s renewed public engagement strategy, particularly through its “Pulse of the Nation” initiative, which seeks to capture citizens’ opinions and communicate them back to government.
The NOA boss acknowledged NANS as an important stakeholder in the discussion, stressing that students should have an opportunity to contribute to policies that affect them.
He maintained, however, that communicating a government policy does not amount to formulating, imposing or implementing such a policy.
Issa-Onilu therefore called on NANS and other stakeholders to distinguish between the institution responsible for driving a government policy and the agency mandated to communicate the policy and facilitate citizens’ engagement with it.
He said NOA remained open to constructive engagement with NANS and students on the proposed LIN, including concerns about its relationship with the existing NIN system.
According to him, such engagement would be consistent with NOA’s responsibility as a bridge between government and citizens and should not be interpreted as an expansion of the Agency’s mandate.
The development is expected to provide an opportunity for the students’ body and government agencies involved in the initiative to further examine the objectives, implications and relationship between the proposed LIN and the existing national identification framework.
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