FG permits Telcos to continue NIN registration for next 5 years

OBINNA EZUGWU

The federal government has given approval to Mobile Network Operators licensed to embark on National Identity Numbers (NIN) registration, with a view to linking them with the Subscribers Identity Module (SIM), to carry on with the task for the next five years.

The government which announced the decision on Wednesday, however did not give any indication on whether or not the April 6 deadline it gave for linkage of NIN with SIM would be extended.

A joint statement by the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Head of Corporate Communications of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Mr Kayode Adegoke respectively announced government decisions.

The statement noted the decision was the aftermath of the meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration last Friday.

The meeting was chaired by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, the statement added.

According to them, some of the decisions reached include: “Approval was given for the extension of the tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licenses for MNOs from 1 to 5 years in consideration of their satisfactory performance, subject to continuous monitoring.

“This is a deliberate effort of the Federal Government to simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians and legal residents.

“The technical committee was mandated to complete the development of a new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised.

“This will ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised through pre-registration by some agents.”