The Nigerian Government has approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification till June 30, 2021.
The decision to extend the exercise, according to joint statement by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, based on request made by stakeholders.
The statement said the decision was reached during a virtual meeting chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami; Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Adeolu Akande; the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta; and the Director-General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The stakeholders said the extension would allow more citizens and legal residents to register for NIN and link their SIM cards.
The statement said about 54 million people have registered for NIN, amounting to 190 million SIM records linked to NIN.
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The statement said, “Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process. For example, almost 54 Million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 Million mobile numbers, since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to 3 to 4 phone lines.
“The much awaited Android enrolment system is now ready for deployment and this has the potential to significantly accelerate the speed and ease of enrolments.”
Pantami reiterated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.
