The Federal Government has introduced a digital addressing system that assigns unique codes to buildings across Nigeria, as it seeks to reduce delivery failures and address losses estimated at up to N80bn annually.
The National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System was launched on Thursday through the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), according to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.
The minister said poor addressing affected more than postal services, creating challenges for emergency response, security operations, financial services, businesses and government planning.
Nigeria loses an estimated N50bn to N80bn annually through missed and failed deliveries linked to inadequate addressing, Tijani said.
“For a country to work efficiently, we need to be able to answer one very basic question. Where?” he asked.
Under the new system, each addressable building is assigned a unique 11-character alphanumeric postcode linked to its geographical location.
The code is structured around five levels: state, local government area, district, area and building.
Unlike conventional addresses tied to occupants, the digital postcode belongs to the building and remains unchanged when residents or businesses move out.
The system is designed to complement existing address details by providing a standard digital location reference that can be used across different platforms and services.
Tijani said the initiative was expected to improve the ability of emergency responders to locate people, help businesses reach customers and support government agencies in directing essential services.
The system is geographical information system-enabled and covers addressable buildings in both urban and rural communities.
Through NIPOST’s official platform, Nigerians can search for, save and share their postcodes. A process is also available for requesting a code for a building that has not yet been captured.
Organisations can integrate the codes into their digital platforms and operational processes, giving businesses and public institutions a common reference for identifying locations.
The Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Tola Odeyemi, had earlier described the initiative as a machine-readable framework for identifying addressable buildings nationwide.
“Postcode is basically a framework used to have a machine-readable standard location address for every addressable building in Nigeria,” Odeyemi said during the validation of the postcode model in June.
She also identified poor addressing as a source of annual losses estimated at between N50bn and N80bn.
The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy described the initiative as a key component of Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure, with potential applications in logistics, e-commerce, public safety, financial services and national planning.
Tijani linked the project to the Federal Government’s broader digital economy agenda and President Bola Tinubu’s ambition to build a $1tn economy.
“As we work towards H.E. President @officialABAT’s ambition for a $1 trillion economy, we must build the foundations that allow more Nigerians to participate, trade and prosper,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to visit postcode.gov.ng to find their codes and begin using them when sharing locations with businesses, service providers, family members and others.
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