The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has extended the deadline for the National Identity Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification exercise to December 31, 2021.
The shift in the new date is to provide a new window for more SIM cards to be linked to the national identification number ( NIN) which the federal government insists is compulsory.
Only about 66 million NIN have been issued by the end of October 2021 and any SIM card that is not linked to a NIN would be deactivated should the federal government carry out its threat.
Pantami said the extension of the deadline follows an appeal from the Mobile Network Operators ( MNOs), who argued a shift was necessary to ensure better compliance and to avoid widening the digital divide.
The extension, according to a press statement jointly signed by NCC and NIMCE, would also provide the enabling environment for the registration of Nigerians in remote areas, diaspora, schools, hospitals, worship centers, as well as foreigners and diplomatic missions.
So far over 66 million unique National Identity Numbers (NIN) have been issued- an indication of progress achieved in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage.
However, a significant part of the populace is yet to be registered into the National Identity Database (NIDB), which may be due to some challenges which the Federal Government has looked into and has made efforts to alleviate, hence the need to extend the deadline, according to the statement.
As of October 30, 2021, there were over 9,500 enrolment systems and over 8,000 NIN enrolment centres within and outside the country- this has significantly eased the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM. The NIN-SIM verification process is supporting the Government’s drive to develop Nigeria’s digital economy, strengthen our ability to protect our cyberspace and support the security agencies.
The statement said the government will also continue to provide an enabling environment for investors in the telecommunications sector,
