The Federal Government has extended the National Identity Number (NIN), linkage to SIM cards by one month to capture more Nigerians. Although, the authorities disclosed that the NIN database has now hit 51 million subscribers on its record, however, millions of Nigerians are also yet to be captured. Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Mr KAyode Adegoke, the Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), and Head Corporate Communication of the Agency respectively revealed this in a statement yesterday Thursday.
The statement revealed that the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, with the ministerial task force took this decision.
At the Meeting were stakeholders from across, EVC/CEO of NCC DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) with all relevant stakeholders from the telecom business.
The extension of time was given to accommodate more NIN-SIM linkage following a court Judgement by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos who insisted that the date must be extended by two months.
Meanwhile, 6th May 2021 has been slated as the date by which subscribers are expected to conclude the exercise and has been endorsed by president Buhari.
The statement partly reads, “The current number of monthly enrolments has increased significantly to about 2.6 million registrations. There has also been a remarkable increase in the number of enrolment centres across the country with about 3,800 centres available for enrolments. There are also many more new centres in the pipeline,”
The Minister applauded Nigerians for bearing with them despite numerous challenges faced by the commission in the registration exercise.
He further stated that the Federal Government was committed to ensuring that the NIN-SIM issues in Nigeria are resolved once and for all.
