The Federal Government of Nigeria has extended the linking of SIM cards with the National Identity Number, NIN registration, by 2 months according to the report. The new deadline is April 6th, 2021.
This message was passed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FNCS, FBCS, FIIM during the meeting of the Ministerial Taskforce on NIN-SIM registration which held on February 1st 2021.
In a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Dr. Ike Adinde and Head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, Kayode Adegoke, made available Tuesday, Pantami stated that the extension is to give Nigerians and legal residents more time to integrate their NIN with the SIM.
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, 2021.
Furthermore, over 1060 registration centers for NIN have been activated and made operational by NIMC across the country, while Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have opened hundreds of centers and are rapidly deploying resources to open thousands of other NIN enrollment centers across states of the country.
This 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.
The CEOs of the Telcos and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Organization of Nigeria commended the Honorable Minister for his stellar leadership and commitment to the rapid development of the sector.
Pantami reiterated 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. It would be recalled that the 4th of February, 2020 was the initial date of the commencement of the National NIN-SIM Registration Policy.
