Following the previous directive on suspending the registration of new SIMs by network operators, the federal government has ordered all operators in the country
To disconnect all SIM cards that are not synchronized with a valid National Identity Number (NIN) before December 30.
This came after an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the communications industry convened by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) on Monday, December 14, 2020.
The meeting in its resolution insisted that all telecommunications operators must as of Thursday, December 16, 2020, require all their subscribers to provide a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to update SIM registration records.
Consequently, part of the resolutions reached at the meeting is that the NIN submission by subscribers must be made within a period of two weeks (starting today, December 16, 2020 and ending before December 30, 2020). .
At the meeting, the need to consolidate the achievements of last year’s SIM registration audit and improve the performance and sanity of the sector was extensively discussed and all stakeholders agreed that urgent and drastic measures have now become inevitable to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registry. process.
To this end, other decisions made for immediate implementation by all Network operators include: .Affirmation of the previous directive to totally suspend the registration of New SIMs by all operators; Operators require all their subscribers to provide a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to update SIM registration records, and after the deadline all SIMs without NINs must be blocked from networks.
In addition, the meeting ended with the creation of a Ministerial Working Group composed of the Minister and all executive directors, among others, as members, to monitor the compliance of all the networks.
According to them, violations of this directive will face harsh penalties, including the possibility of withdrawing the operating license.
However, they urged the general public to ensure that their NINs are captured in their SIM registration data and apologized for any inconvenience this directive may cause.
The meeting was attended by the executive directors (CEOs) and leadership of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). ), as well as the CEOs and management staff of all industry service providers.
It will be recalled that the Minister had ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in September last year to carry out a SIM registration audit, resulting in the disconnection of around 9.2 million unregistered SIMs in the whole country, following the increasing rate of insecurity in the country.
Similarly, last week the Minister also ordered the NCC to suspend the activation of new SIM cards. He said it was to allow an audit of the subscriber registration database.
The Minister explained that the order was in line with the federal government’s desire to consolidate the achievement of the September 2019 SIM card registration.
He also explained that the objective of the audit was to verify and ensure compliance by the Mobile Network Operators (MNO) with the established quality standards and requirements issued by the Ministry and the commission.
