The Nigerian Government has directed all Telcos including MTN Glo, and 9Mobile, to strictly bar outgoing calls for telephone lines that have not complied with the policy of linking National Identification Number (NIN) to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) from the 4th of April, 2022.
Affected individuals are advised to register for their NINs at designated centers and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.
As of date, over 125 Million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication. Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 Million unique NINs till date.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, gave the directive for the implementation and commencement of the exercise in December 2020, as part of the administration’s security and social policies.
The deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage has been extended on multiple occasions to allow Nigerians to freely comply with the Policy.
The government also took into consideration the passionate appeals by several bodies – Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Civil Societies, Professional Bodies and a host of others – for the extension of the deadlines in the past.
At this point however, Government has determined that the NIN-SIM Policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents.
The implementation impacts on Government’s strategic planning, particularly in the areas of security and socio-economic projections.
The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, specially appreciates President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) for his tremendous support.
He also commends the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Dambatta, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Azeez Abubakar along with their Management and Staff, as well as other notable bodies whose efforts have seen to the monumental success of the exercise.
The Minister also extends his thanks to the telecommunication operators for their support towards the success recorded.
He also emphasized that enrolment for the NIN is a continuous exercise and NIN is a precondition for service in Telcos, banks, Nigerian Immigration Service, and for several other government services.
He also encouraged Nigerians and legal residents to visit NIN registration centers for the enrollment and issuance of valid NINs.
