The President Muhammadu Buhari administration has approved the further extension of the deadline for mobile phone subscribers to link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their SIM registration records till March 31, 2022.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last December directed telecommunications operators to block all SIM cards not registered with NIN by the end of 2020.
This deadline has now been moved eight times with the latest announcement by the NCC on Friday, December 31, 2021, the deadline date that was announced in October.
“Following the request by stakeholders, including citizens, legal residents and Nigerians in the diaspora, the Federal Government has extended the deadline of the exercise to the 31st of March, 2022.
“This extension would enable the Federal Government to consolidate the gains of the process and accelerate the enrolment of Nigerians in key areas like the remote areas, diaspora, schools, hospitals, worship centres, and the registration of legal residents,” the agency said.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, urged Nigerians and legal residents in the country to complete their NIN-SIM linkage as more services will soon require NIN for identification.
The NIMC said the exercise has significantly impacted the growth of NIN issuance with 71 million people on record.
The agency has set up enrolment centres in over 31 other countries to also serve Nigerians in diaspora.
