Breaking: FG Extends NIN-SIM Linkage Deadline By Eight Weeks
Federal Government has extended the deadline of linkage of National Identity Number (NIN) to SIM cards by 8 weeks.
It would be recalled that on December 15, Federal Government declared that after December 30, all SIMs that were not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.
It later extended the December 30 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement and gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, to January 19, 2021.
FG also gave six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.
However, shortly before the January deadline elapsed, many telephone users and organisations called for a deadline extension or outright suspension of the NIN registration process due to the large number of people that are yet to get their NINs.
Yielding to the cry of the people, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered an extension of the process till February 9.
Nevertheless, the call for further extension increased, considering the mammoth crowd still visiting NIMC offices for NIN registration everyday around the country.
FG has now decided to further extend the deadline in order to give room for more participation.
This was contained in a statement signed by Mr. Kayode Adegoke, Head, Corporate, Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The statement partly reads;
The ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) integration exercise has been extended by 8 weeks, with a new deadline of April 6, 2021.
More details to come.