By Audrey Lotechukwu
TUE 04 MAY, 2021-theGBJournal- The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for National Identity Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification to the 30th of June, 2021.
The postponement of the deadline was also based on the request by stakeholders for an extension till 30th of June, 2021 in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register and to obtain the
Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, reiterated government’s commitment to continually take decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.
The extension followed the virtual meeting chaired Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, and attended by Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Adeolu Akande, 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.
A statement by the NCC said 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 three to four 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.’’
According to the NCC, Sections 27 and 29 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007 provides for the mandatory use of NIN 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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