Admin l Saturday, 03 April 2021
ABUJA, Nigeria – The database of the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage has exceeded 51 million people in just one month. This was revealed at a meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM data linkage chaired by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
“There are many people, who have enrolled and are in the process of being assigned NINs. With each individual having an average of 3 to 4 SIMs, the total number of SIMs tied to NINs would be close to the total number of registered SIMs in the country”, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission said in a statement.
He said current number of monthly enrolments has increased significantly to about 2.6 million registrations, adding that there has also been a remarkable increase in the number of enrolment centres across the country with about 3,800 centres available for enrolments. “There are also many more new centres in the pipeline”, the NCC said.
The Chairman of the EFCC, AbdulRasheed Bawa who addressed the meeting stated that the NIN-SIM linkage would support the Federal Government’s efforts in checkmating activities of fraudsters and cybercriminals.
Speaking during the meeting, the minister emphasized the importance of obtaining feedback from all stakeholders in order to ensure that the NIN-SIM linkage process is one that cannot easily be compromised.
Pantami thanked Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise. He reiterated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.
The meeting was 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), Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Representative of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo.
