Embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami has shifted the NIN-SIM link deadline to June 30, 2021.
The Nigerian Communications Commission and National Identity Management Commission announced the deadline extension of the National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) integration exercise in a jointly signed statement.
The extension, the federal government said, was due to the virtual meeting chaired by Mr Pantami and attended by the Chairman of NCC, Adeolu Akande, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Umar Garba Dambatta, and NIMC’s Director-General, Aliyu Azeez.
The minister said the postponement of the deadline was also based on stakeholders’ request for an extension until June 30 to make it easier for Nigerians and legal residents to register.
“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,” Mr Pantami said.
