BY FRANK MOMODU
The Technical Implementation Committee (TIC) comprising of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise.
At the Stakeholders review meeting held yesterday 18th January, NCC, Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators.
According to him, at an average of 3 to 4 SIMs per subscriber, this means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021.
Reacting to the report, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ibrahim Pantami, expressed satisfaction with this commendable achievement.
He commended stakeholders and citizens urging 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 committee drew attention to the App developed by FGN 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.