By February 28, 2024, telecom companies must completely disable all SIM cards that aren’t connected to national identity numbers (NINs), according a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The carriers have been lettered to complete the exercise as instructed, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, among others.
According to data gathered by The Guardian in August, there were 220 million subscribers among the telecom companies, of which 85 million were with MTN, 61 million with Glo, 60 million with Airtel, and 13 million with 9mobile.
The Federal Government mandated the NIN-SIM Linkage exercise, which started in December 2020. Due to customer attrition, the telecom companies have already lost almost 20 million subscribers. Nonetheless, when more Nigerians signed up for NIN, carriers were able to recover some lines using a variety of promotional packages that included incentives like free airtime.
Findings, however, indicated that roughly 10 million have not yet been found. The new rule may result in higher subscription costs for operators.
MTN said that it received an official direction from the NCC to enforce full network blocking on all phone lines for whom the subscribers have not submitted their NINs and those whose NINs are unverified in a letter written to its shareholders and made available to press yesterday.
According to MTN, this is a component of an industry-wide policy that mandates the blocking of phone lines whose subscribers have not filed their NINs by February 28, 2024, at the latest.
The company clarified that if five or more lines are connected to an unverified NIN, the submitted but unconfirmed NINs will be blocked by March 29, 2024, at the latest. In a similar vein, it said that lines with less than five connections to an unconfirmed NIN will be blocked by April 15, 2024, at the latest.
Before their lines are unbarred, all impacted subscribers must be validated (biometrics and biodata), according to MTN.
According to the telecom company, this is a reaction to the NCC’s order from April 4, 2022, which mandated that operators limit outgoing calls (also known as one-way banning) for customers whose lines are not connected to NINs.
According to MTN, it is interacting with the impacted customers further via “all our channels to encourage them to submit their NINs for verification. We are improving the capability of our several service outlets as part of our efforts to streamline and expedite the procedure. Our goal is to make sure that our subscribers follow the direction from the NCC, and we’ll keep collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to expedite the NIN verification process.”
“We are committed to complying with the industry-wide directive from the NCC as a law-abiding corporate citizen and in accordance with our operating licence requirements. With the release of FY 2023 results, we will give investors additional updates on progress and potential impact.”
Before the deadlines, we implore all of our subscribers who haven’t yet connected their NIN to their lines to do so right away by going to the closest MTN store or utilising any of our digital means. To enlist for NIN, those without one should go to any of the NIMC’s enrollment centres around the country, according to the statement.
In response, the Nigerian Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators (ALTON) has urged phone customers not to wait till the allotted period has passed.
Millions of customers have not yet submitted their NINs for verification, according to a statement signed by the Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga, and Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, which was made available to the media.
“It is impossible to overstate the significance of the NIN. It is essential for Nigeria’s National Identity Management System to be dependable and long-lasting. It helps handle security issues and permits access to government services and economic inclusion. Building a safer society and a successful digital economy require support for the NIN programme. As law-abiding business citizens who strongly support the government’s goal of creating a digital economy, our members are therefore dedicated to carrying out the directive,” ALTON said.
In order to prevent complete service suspension by the deadlines, the telecoms body pleaded with users to enrol for NINs or submit their NINs through the proper channel promoted by members.
