NIN-SIM registration continues till February 9, NCC says

The Federal Government had given January 19, 2021, as the deadline for those who already have NIN to submit it, and February 9, 2021, as the deadline for those who were yet to register and obtain their NIN. 

This comes after the deadline for the submission of subscribers’ National Identification Number (NIN) to mobile service providers for the synchronisation with SIM cards is causing tension and anxiety among the subscribers as the ultimatum expired yesterday.

In spite of this, the subscribers continued to lament the NIN registration mandate by the Federal Government.

Showing satisfaction with the level of compliance on NIN submission, the FG is, however, optimistic that millions of Nigerians will have their NINs linked with their SIM cards before the February 9, 2021 deadline given to subscribers that are yet to register for the national identity card.

With the level of compliance so far, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) is of the view that NIN submission will continue after the initial deadline of January 19, 2021, because the number of those that have submitted their NINs is already on the high side, leaving only a negligible number of subscribers who have NIN but are yet to submit. 

A statement by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, said the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, was impressed with the level of compliance so far. 

“At the end of a review meeting on January 18, 2021, the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise. 

“So far, a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of 3 to 4 SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021,” the statement read in part.