FG asks mobile operators to establish SIM swap centres in 774 councils
Pantami
Extends tenure of NIN enrolment licence
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have been asked to establish a dedicated Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) cards swap centre in each of the 774 local government areas in the country.
This was part of the resolution at a meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on NIN-SIM Registration chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami.
The meeting also approved the extension of tenure of NIN enrolment licences for MNOs from one to five years, in consideration of their satisfactory performance, subject to continuous monitoring.
In a joint statement, yesterday, the Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head of Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke, said the extension of tenure of NIN enrolment licences was a deliberate effort of the Federal Government to simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians and legal residents.
At the meeting were Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta; Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz; Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullai; comptroller-general, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, among others.
The statement informed that the technical committee was mandated to complete the development of a new SIM cards issuance strategy that cannot be compromised.
“This will ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised through preregistration by some agents. A multi-sectoral adhoc committee was tasked to immediately complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months.”
According to the statement, MNOs that already have service centres in important and critical locations in local government areas are expected to upgrade them to a level where they can qualify as SIM swap centres to reduce the difficulties associated with SIM swap/replacement process for citizens.
The purpose, according to Adinde and Adegoke, is to bring SIM swap centres closer to Nigerians, regardless of their location.
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