The ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) integration exercise has been extended by another eight weeks.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim, held a meeting of the Ministerial Taskforce on NIN-SIM registration on Monday where a new deadline of April 6, 2021 was fixed.
A statement was issued by the Director of Public Affairs at Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Head, Corporate Communications,National Identity Management Commission, Mr. Kayode Adegoke, on Tuesday.
It stated that Pantami said that the extension was to give Nigerians and legal residents more time to integrate their NIN with the SIM.
The meeting was chaired by the Honourable Minister and attended by key stakeholders, including the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Others include the MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile, Ntel, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the Chief Operating Officers (COO) of Globacom.
The telecoms operators reported that a total of 56.18 million NINs had been collected.
According to the statement, each NIN is usually tied to an average of three to four 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.
READ ALSO: Nigeria Lost N326.26 Million To Oil Spills In 13 Months
The statement read, “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.
“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 ALTON commended the 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 enrol 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.
Pantami stated that President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his satisfaction with the progress made regarding the NIN-SIM linkage and commended the minister and all stakeholders for their roles.
He encouraged citizens to take advantage of the extension to fully participate in the process.
