Federal Government has extended the deadline for Nigerians to register and link their National Identification Number (NIN) to their SIM cards before February 9, 2021.
This information was posted on the official Twitter handle of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The NIMC had initially given a January 19 deadline for those with NIN and February 9 for those without NIN.
The tweet reads: “All Nigerians and legal residents are advised to enroll for their national identification number (NIN) and link them before February 9th, 2021.
Enroll for your national identification NUMBER (NIN) today!!!
“Please remember, NIN enrollment is FREE.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) released a statement signed by Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, director of Public Affairs.
Adinde said that the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise and the federal government is happy about the development.
At the end of a review meeting on January 18, the Ministerial Task Force, said that so far, a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of three to four SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021.
Reacting to the report, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, expressed satisfaction with this commendable achievement. He expressed the Federal Government’s appreciation for the commitment demonstrated by all stakeholders and citizens and urged them to submit their NINs before 9th February, 2021 deadline.
The Minister urged the technical team to fast-track the processes so that the project is delivered soonest.
The Technical Committee drew attention to the App developed by Federal Government which allows subscribers to link up to a maximum of seven (7) SIMs to their NIN.
The Minister concluded by reminding Nigerians to secure and protect their NINs, urging subscribers to desist from selling their NINs or allowing others to use their NINs for registration. “For any action committed with the SIM, good or bad, it will be officially traced and attached to the NIN owner,” the Minister warned.
