The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) issued 82.7 million National Identification Numbers in May, up from 80 million in April.
According to NIMC data, Lagos is the most populous state in the country, with 9.48 million people. Kano 6.9 million, Kaduna 4.9 million, Ogun 3.4 million, Oyo 3.3 million, FCT 3 million, Katsina 2.6 million, Rivers 2.5 million, Delta 2.2 million, and Niger 2.1 million are among the states with greater populations.
Men had collected 46.5 million NINs, while women had 31.2 million as of May, according to the identity body.
According to NIMC, Akwa Ibom has 1.46 million NINs, Imo has 1.4 million, Enugu has 1.36 million, Zamfara has 1.3 million, Yobe has 1.2 million, Taraba has 1.2 million, Cross River has 935,544 NINs, Ekiti has 915,982 NINs, Ebonyi has 670,403 NINs, and Bayelsa has 541,516 NINs. Diaspora issued 176,892 NIN hits, with 98,762 going to men and 78,133 to women.
The North West has 25.68 percent, the South West has 24.9 percent, the North Central has 16.7 percent, the North East has 12.31 percent, and the South East has 6.48 percent.
In the meantime, telecoms operators are wooing subscribers with new promotions to entice them back after the Federal Government issued a decree in April requiring telecoms providers to ban outgoing calls from non-linked telephone lines.
The April directive affected approximately 75 million lines, and it later emerged that, despite repeated attempts to re-link the lines, certain subscribers had various issues and eventually dropped some of the lines.
MTN indicated in May that 19 million users were affected, while Airtel Nigeria said that as of the end of April, only 35.9 million of its 44.4 million active customers had linked their NINs to their SIMs. As a result, 8.5 million of the telco’s subscribers have been placed on’receive only’ status.
Recognizing that every single line blocked represents a revenue loss, telecoms have devised methods to entice affected users to return.
Globacom, for example, has launched the ‘Glo NIN Offer.’ The “Glo NIN Offer is a one-time bonus offer applicable solely to clients who were restricted from making outgoing calls on the Glo network as directed by regulatory authorities owing to NIN non-compliance,” the business said in a statement announcing the launch of the ads.
Subscribers that link their NIN to their SIMS will receive a N20,000 incentive to use on the network to talk, browse, and text.
Airtel has also urged affected customers to re-link their lines in order to receive N20,000 in free airtime and internet credit.
