Federal Government Extends Deadline For NIN-SIM Linkage
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – The Federal Government on Tuesday announced an extension of eight weeks on the deadline of the registration for the National Identification Number (NIN) and linkage to the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).
This was contained in a statement by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, who said that the deadline for the integration of the NIN and SIM would now take effect from April 6, 2021.
The statement which was signed by the Director, Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, also said that the extension was granted by the Minister after the meeting of the Ministerial Task force on NIN-SIM registration.
The Minister explained that the extension is to give Nigerians and legal residents more time to integrate their NIN with the SIM.
The statement further states; “It was reported that a total of 56.18 million NINs have been collected by the mobile network operators. Each NIN is usually tied to an average of 3 to 4 SIMs and this infers that the current figure accounts for a significant portion of the existing SIMs.
“This number of NINs collected represents a significant increase when compared with the 47.8 million reported by the Technical Committee on January 18.
“Furthermore, over 1,060 registration centres for NIN have been activated and made operational by NIMC across the country while Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have opened hundreds of centres and are rapidly deploying resources to open thousands of other NIN enrolment centres across states of the country”.
Pantami said that the development is in line with the policy of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance security and make the process of obtaining NINs easier for Nigerians, stressing that the need for Nigerians and legal residents who are yet to register for the NIN to be diligent and take advantage of the extension to enroll for their NIN and link with their SIMs.
The Minister also said; “This protocol is in line with the executive order on COVID-19 2020, signed by President Buhari on January 27, 2021, in keeping with the provisions of the quarantine Act 2004”.
Pantami noted that February 4, 2020 was the initial date of the commencement of the National NIN-SIM Registration Policy.
The Federal Government applauds all Nigerians and persons of other nationalities for their understanding, cooperation and for enthusiastically participating in the exercise.
Pantami also commended the efforts of NIMC, NCC, MNOs and all other relevant government and private sector organisations for their unflinching support toward the success of the exercise.
In their remarks, the CEOs of the Telcos and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Organisation of Nigeria commended the Minister for his leadership and commitment to rapid development of the sector.
The meeting was chaired by the minister and attended by key stakeholders amongst who were the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Managing Directors of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9Mobile, Ntel, Spectranet and SMILE.
