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The Federal Government has directed telecommunications companies to bar outgoing calls on 73 million unlinked lines from April, 4, 2022.
It, however, advised all affected individuals to register their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link them to their SIMs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on the lines.
The government’s directive was contained in a statement issued by the spokespersons of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Kayode Adegoke and Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, respectively.
The statement said over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication with over 78 million unique NINs issued till date.
According to the NCC website, as at February 2022, Nigeria had 197,768,482 active GSM subscribers, out of which 125 million SIMs subscribers have had their NINs submitted for linkage. This means that an estimated 72,768,482 subscribers are currently at risk of being disconnected.
“President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the implementation of the Policy with effect from April 4, 2022, with the government directing all Telcos to strictly enforce the Policy on all SIMs issued (existing and new) in Nigeria.
Consequently, outgoing calls from the affected SIMs will subsequently be barred for telephone lines that have not complied with the NIN-SIM linkage Policy from April, 4, 2022 as owners of such lines were advised to link their SIMs to their NINs before the Telcos can lift the restriction on their lines. “
“Affected individuals are hereby advised to register for their NINs at designated centres and thereafter link the NINs to their SIMs through the channels provided by NIMC and the Telcos, including the NIMC mobile App.
“As of date, over 125 million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication.
Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 Million unique NINs till date.” the statement said.
This is also coming as Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, emphasized that enrolment for the NIN is a continuous exercise and NIN is a precondition for service in Telcos, banks, Nigerian Immigration Service, and for several other government services. “He also encouraged Nigerians and legal residents to visit NIN registration centres for the enrollment and issuance of valid NINs,” she said.
