At the end of a review meeting on 18th January 2021, the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise.
So far, a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of three to four SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline.
Reacting to the report, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, expressed satisfaction with this commendable achievement. He expressed the Federal Government’s appreciation for the commitment demonstrated by all stakeholders and citizens and urged them to submit their NINs before 9th February, 2021 deadline.
Speaking on the development, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) said the telecoms operators have been told to shut down SIMs not linked with NIN after the last day.
The Minister urged the technical team to fast-track the processes so that the project is delivered soonest.
Many Nigerians have been urging the government to extend the deadline, citing the population of the country and the outdated facilities of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) impending the full integration of subscribers into the NCC database.
On the contrary, we have learned that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it is planning to make the NIN a prerequisite for the voters’ registration exercise.
According to the electoral commission, this will help to tackle the problem of underage voting in some parts of the country.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, concluded by reminding Nigerians to secure and protect their NINs, urging subscribers to desist from selling their NINs or allowing others to use their NINs for registration. “For any action committed with the SIM, good or bad, it will be officially traced and attached to the NIN owner,” the Minister warned.
