Buhari Reveals New Deadline Date For NIN-SIM Linkage

Buhari has revealed a new deadline date for NIN-SIM linkage.

Jameela News reports that the President Buhari-led administration has revealed April 6, 2021, as the new deadline for the National Identification Number (NIN) linkage with the subscriber identity module (SIM).

This online news platform learned from the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami that the new date is eight weeks from the today, Tuesday, February 2.

Pantami said that the decision was reached at a meeting of the ministerial taskforce on NIN-SIM registration which held on Monday, February 1.

According to a statement issued by the Communication Ministry, the extension would avail Nigerians and legal residents more time to “integrate their NIN with the SIM”.

The statement said, “The meeting was chaired by the Honourable Minister and 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) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). Others include the MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile, Ntel, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Globacom.

“It was reported that a total of 56.18 million NINs have been collected by the mobile network operators. Each NIN is usually tied to an average of 3 to 4 SIMs and this infers that the current figure accounts for a significant portion of the existing SIMs. This number of NINs collected represents a significant increase when compared with the 47.8 million reported by the Technical Committee on January 18, 2021.

”Furthermore, over 1060 registration centres for NIN have been activated and made operational by NIMC across the country, while Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have opened hundreds of centres and are rapidly deploying resources to open thousands of other NIN enrolment centres across states of the country. This is in line with the policy of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to enhance security and make the process of obtaining NINs easier for Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, Jameela News understands that President Muhammadu had expressed satisfaction at the level of progress made during the NIN-SIM integration.

Although the initial deadline was February 4, the date has now been shifted,’

This development came amidst the outcry of some Nigerians who are concerned about the rowdiness at most NIN centres despite the ongoing deadly COVID-19 pandemic.