Abidjan, September 16, 2026 – Speaking on the occasion of the 2026 edition of Identity Day in Côte d’Ivoire on September 16, 2026, in Abidjan, the Director General of the National Office of Civil Status and Identification (ONECI), Christian Ago Kodia, stressed that identity is a trust infrastructure that enables the State, the economy, and society to function.
"Identity is becoming a sovereign infrastructure. It allows the State to know who its citizens are, who resides on its territory, and what their legal status is. Therefore, identity is not merely an administrative document; it is a true trust infrastructure that allows the State, the economy, and society to function," declared Christian Ago Kodia.
For Côte d’Ivoire, the most essential issue is not simply providing a document to everyone, but rather building an infrastructure that will enable all services to be interoperable and serve the country’s development.
According to him, Côte d’Ivoire’s ambition is to establish a reliable identity foundation in order to offer the best possible services to citizens. This involves, notably, facilitating economic exchanges between individuals and becoming the invisible foundation for daily integration.
To achieve this, he added, a National Identification Number (NNI) is required to certify an authenticable identity, thereby granting access to public and private services, as well as the digital economy.
For Jean Fructueux Bako, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister of Interior and Security in charge of territorial administration, "legal identity must be that inseparable double that protects every citizen and grants them a place in society." He added that inclusive development cannot exist without a reliable, full, and complete identity.
He recalled Côte d’Ivoire's progress in terms of identification, including the modernization of civil status registries, online birth declarations in health centers, and the securing of the national register of physical persons.
It is worth noting that Identity Day is an initiative launched by ID4Africa to help African nations develop robust and inclusive identity ecosystems, ensuring every individual's right to a legal and recognized identity.