Registration Centers still full as FG extends NIN-SIM Linkage by one month
By Eyo Alison
Many Registration Centers across Nigeria are still full of persons, who struggle to register as the Federal Government extends NIN-SIM linkage by one month.
The close monitoring of the ongoing exercise by The Daily showed that the congestion noticed at the Centers has not reduced despite the fact that over 51 million people had been registered before the extension.
In a statement obtained by The Daily, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, had earlier stated: “The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, had recently chaired the meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM data linkage.”
According to him, “The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Representative of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet, and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo.
“The meeting took place on Thursday, April 1, 2021, and approval was given to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to the 6th of May 2021. The request for the extension was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it.
“Based on the updates of the NIN-registration process, over 51 million people have been assigned NINs. There are many people, who have enrolled and are in the process of being assigned NINs. With each individual having an average of 3 to 4 SIMs, the total number of SIMs tied to NINs would be close to the total number of registered SIMs in the country.
“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 centers across the country with about 3,800 centers available for enrolments. There are also many more new centers in the pipeline.
“The Chairman of the EFCC addressed the meeting and stated that the NIN-SIM linkage would support the Federal Government in checkmating the activities of fraudsters and cybercriminals.
“The Honourable Minister noted the importance of obtaining feedback from all stakeholders in order to ensure that the NIN-SIM linkage the process is one that cannot easily be compromised.”
It had added; “Dr. Pantami wishes to thank Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise. He reiterated the government’s commitment to continue taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.”
