The Federal Government has announced a further extension of the ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) registration and linkage with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) exercises to a new deadline of June 30, 2021.
This follows the request by stakeholders who asked for an extension for the exercise which was to elapse on May 6 to a new date of June 30 in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register.
This disclosure was contained in a statement jointly signed by the Head of Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke and Director of Public Affairs of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, and made available to newsmen in Abuja, on Tuesday.
They noted that the extension was as a result of the virtual meeting chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, and attended by the chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Adeolu Akande.
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Other people in attendance were the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Prof Umar Garba Dambatta and the Director-General/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr Aliyu Azeez.
The statement from NIMC and NCC reads, “Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process. For example, almost 54 million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 million mobile numbers since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to 3 to 4 phone lines. The much-awaited Android enrolment system is now ready for deployment and this has the potential to significantly accelerate the speed and ease of enrolments.
“Furthermore, the telecom providers and other enrolment agents have also opened several centres across the country to make it easier for eligible citizens and residents to obtain and link their NINs.
“It is noteworthy that Sections 27 and 29 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007 provides for the mandatory use of National Identity Number for accessing several government services. This is similar to the use of Social Security Number and National Insurance Number for accessing services in the United States of America and the United Kingdom respectively.
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“The Federal Government has approved the extension as part of its effort to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.”
Pantami thanked Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise and 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.
What you should know
It can be recalled that about a month ago, the Federal Government announced the extension of the deadline for Nigerians to link their National Identification Numbers (NIN) to their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) to May 6, 2021.
The approval to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to May 6 was given at the meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on NIN-SIM data linkage and key stakeholders held on Thursday in Abuja.
The government in its statement noted that over 51 million people now have their NINs with a significant increase in the monthly enrolments.
