The Federal Government has given Mobile Network Operators the approval to establish dedicated SIM Swap Centres across the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.
Telecoms operators with service centres in important and critical locations in LGAs, were also asked to upgrade these centres to a level where they could qualify as SIM swap centres.
The technical committee was also mandated to complete the development of a new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised to ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised through pre-registration by some agents.
These resolutions were made at the Ministerial Task Force on the National Identity Number-SIM registration 4th Review Meeting held virtually and chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami.
Pantami tasked the NCC, NIMC and MNOs, to come up with a framework for the establishment of SIM Swap/Replacement Centres in each of the 774 LGAs in the country, beginning with critical and feasible locations.
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A statement issued on Wednesday by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) stated that the centres reduce the challenges associated with the SIM swap/replacement process for the citizens.
The government also approved the extension of the tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licenses for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) from one to five years in consideration of their satisfactory performance, in which the NIN-SIM registration is subject to continuous monitoring.
This, according to the Federal Government, is a deliberate effort to simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians and legal residents.
In addition, a multi-sectoral adhoc committee was tasked to immediately complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months.
The membership of the Committee was drawn from NCC, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, briefed the meeting on the outcome of the Senate Investigative Hearing on 5G Deployment in Nigeria, which took place last week.
He extolled the minister for making an eloquent presentation to dispel fears about the public health and security implications of 5G, as well as making a case for this new technology in the country.
All the stakeholders agreed on the need for the country to deploy 5G technology.
The minister appreciated Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise, which has many benefits to the country and its citizens.
He assured of the government’s commitment to continually take decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens concerning issues related to NIN and SIM registration.
