In light of the recent order by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) compelling telcos to suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards, telecom operators have stated their willingness to cooperate with the commission on the directive.
The operators have appealed to subscribers to endure the inconvenience the suspension might cause them.
The commission gave an order to telecom operators to suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards on Wednesday.
The announcement was made by the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde He said the action became inevitable in line with the federal government’s plan to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise of September 2019.
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body of licensed telecommunications operators in Nigeria, on Friday released a statement notifying the general public, and its partners that it had instructed all its members to comply with the order pending the completion of the consolidation exercise for the audit of subscriber registration database.
In the statement, which was signed by its Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo and its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Damian Udeh, ALTON appealed to telecoms subscribers to exercise patience until the audit was over.
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Part of the statement read: “In line with the Federal Government desire to consolidate the achievement of the SIM Card registration exercise of September, 2019, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is to embark on another audit of the Subscriber Registration Database again. As a result of the above, the NCC has directed all telecom operators (telcos) to immediately suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards on their respective networks to enable a smooth and seamless audit exercise. This suspension is expected to be lifted upon the conclusion of the audit and normalcy will again return to the sim acquisition and registration process by the NCC.
“ALTON regrets any inconveniences that this disruption will cause and seeks the understanding of Nigerian subscribers for a holistic alignment with federal government’s objectives in this regard. ALTON further assures the public of its members’ cooperation and compliance with this NCC and federal government’s directive, and will partner with them towards an expedited conclusion of the audit exercise.”
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