The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has directed telecoms companies to join in the registration of Nigerians for their National Identification Number (NIN).
The directive was given by NIMC director-general Aliyu Aziz to avoid overcrowding at the commission’s offices.
According to him, “We have licensed private and public sector organisations including telcos (telecommunications companies) so as to create more centres.”
On the 15th of December, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) instructed mobile operators in the country, MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9 Mobile, to block all SIMs without National Identification Numbers (NINs) from their networks as from 31 December 2020.
The Federal Government then extended the deadline for the registration of the National Identification Number (NIN) by telecommunication service subscribers as it was obvious that not many people would meet the deadline.
Subscribers with NIN had a three-week extension from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021, for linking up; while those without NIN now have till February 9, 2021, unlike the initial December 30, 2020 deadline.
Even with the extension and the increase in COVID-19 cases, it was obvious that NIMC officials could not cope with the upsurge in people trying to meet the NIN registration deadline.
On the 7th of January, NIMC officials embarked on a strike to protest against the poor welfare and exposure to COVID-19. The strike was suspended days after
The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), then approved the licensing of 173 private sector Agents and 30 State Governments/Public Sector Institutions to join in the enrolment of Nigerians for their NIN.
As at January 20, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that 47.8 million National identification Numbers (NINs) had been received from telecommunications companies to enable subscribers to link their NIN with their SIM cards.
NIMC then had to include the telcos in the NIN registration efforts as it still was obvious that people would not meet the February 9 deadline.
It is hoped that this inclusion will solve the frustration that Nigerians encounter while trying to get their NIN.
