NSA Boss to Chair Powerful Steering Committee -As Liberia Sets New ID Deadline

In a major leap toward national digitization and security reform, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has appointed his National Security Advisor, Cllr. Samuel Kofi Woods, to chair a high-powered steering committee tasked with implementing Liberia’s long-awaited National Biometric Identification System (NBIS). The revised nationwide rollout is now set for April 13, 2026.

According to a presidential memo dated July 5, 2025, the steering committee includes heavyweight institutions such as the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Post and Telecommunications, along with the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, the National Identification Registry (NIR), the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL), and the National Elections Commission (NEC). Also represented are the Senior Economic Advisor and the President’s Delivery Unit.

The committee has been given sweeping responsibilities to develop, coordinate, and enforce the national biometric ID system.

The biometric platform is expected to not only tighten national security but also transform public service delivery, banking, and civil identification through an efficient, offline-capable verification infrastructure.

This latest development comes amid implementation delays of Executive Order No. 147, which President Boakai signed on April 14, 2025.

The order made biometric ID registration mandatory for all Liberians and foreign residents who have lived in the country for at least 90 days. The move aims to modernize Liberia’s ID system and combat identity fraud.

The biometric cards are required to access essential services, including mobile SIM registration, banking, healthcare, educational institutions, and immigration clearance.

The initiative is widely seen as one of the Boakai administration’s boldest efforts to drive digital governance.

In response to surging turnout and data processing challenges, the government extended the registration deadline from August 1 to August 31, 2025.

NIR Executive Director Andrew Peters confirmed the extension, citing overwhelming citizen response to the executive mandate.

“The extension is to accommodate the large number of citizens complying with the government’s mandate. We are also recruiting young Liberians across all 15 counties to support the effort,” Peters stated.

As implementation hurdles persist, the Central Bank of Liberia has instructed all commercial banks to temporarily accept other valid forms of identification until the biometric cards are fully deployed. The interim measure seeks to avoid disruptions in financial services.

Peters, however, emphasized that the value of the biometric cards lies in the accuracy of the data not just their physical appearance.

“The features of the cards are not what matters most it’s the verifiable and authentic information the card contains,” he told reporters.

He also issued a stern warning to fraudsters producing counterfeit cards. “Those individuals involved are wasting their time. Those duplicated cards cannot be used anywhere for transactions,” he warned.

To safeguard data and support real-time identity verification, the NIR is now deploying secure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for banks and authorized entities. This system will allow instant access to the national database under the Know Your Customer (KYC) framework.

The government’s broader strategy includes registering all foreign nationals in Liberia by 2028, a plan that Peters says is vital for border integrity. “Even Ghanaians and Americans living here will be captured,” he added.

President Boakai’s biometric ID drive forms part of his 2024 digital transformation campaign. Managed under the 2011 National Identification Registry Act, the initiative also adheres strictly to Liberia’s existing data protection and privacy laws.

All government institutions, agencies, and private entities are mandated to comply with Executive Order No. 147, while the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, alongside the Liberia Revenue Authority, oversees national enforcement.

With the appointment of the steering committee and the new April 2026 target date, the Boakai administration is sending a strong message: Liberia is serious about identity, security, and digital modernization. The biometric revolution has begun.