The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has directed all telecom operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs.
Over the weekend, many telecom subscribers/consumers were unable to access their phone lines because of the inability of many telecom consumers to verify their National Identification Numbers (NINs) with their Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs).
To this end, the phone numbers of the affected subscribers/consumers were blocked by their telecom service providers in keeping with laws and policies of the NIN-SIM linkage.
However, a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Reuben Muoka on Monday in Abuja, recalled that the federal government directed telecommunication companies to bar unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that were not linked to NIN following the compulsory linkage of NIN with SIM which began in December 2020.
The statement observed that since December 2023, the Commission had reviewed the deadline a few times noting that April 15, 2024 was set as the deadline for the full network barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs that had unverified NIN details.
It further added that that deadline was then reviewed to July 31, 2024, to give consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details were properly verified even as he regretted that despite those extensions, many phone lines were yet to be linked with verified NINs.
“The objectives of this exercise by the Federal Government of Nigeria include enhancing national security and ensuring the national SIM ownership database is accurate. The NIN-SIM linkage policy aids in verifying and protecting users’ identities while also providing a critical infrastructure that assures access to the benefits of a robust digital economy for the citizenry.
“The consumer is our priority, therefore, considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the Commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs.
“Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM.
“Members of the public who are yet to verify their SIMs are encouraged to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines”, the statement said.
Send your press invite, news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @PrimetimeRepor1 and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526.
