Govt demands NIN for SIM registration update

For the planned audit of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card registration, users are to provide valid National Identification Numbers (NINs) to update their records.

This was part of the resolution reached by stakeholders during a meeting convened by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) in Abuja.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ike Adinde, there was affirmation of the earlier directive to suspend registration of new SIMs by operators.

The Federal Government directed service providers to mandatorily ask subscribers for NINs during the exercise.

Submission of NIN, which lasts for two weeks, is running from December 16 to 30, 2020.

The regulator noted that after the deadline, all SIMs without NINs are to be blocked.

It was learnt that a ministerial task force, comprising the minister, the CEOs and others as members, is to monitor compliance.

According to the statement, disobedience would be visited with stiff sanctions, including possible withdrawal of operating licences.

NCC urged the public to ensure that their NINs are captured in their SIM registration data.

The telecoms regulator said the meeting had in attendance the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) as well as CEOs and management staff of all service providers in the industry.

“At the meeting, the need to consolidate the achievements of last year’s SIM registration audit and improve the performance and sanity of the sector was exhaustively discussed and all stakeholders agreed that urgent drastic measures have now become inevitable to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registration process,” the release added.