The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has firmly stated that there will be no extension of the February 28, 2024 deadline for the linkage of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to National Identification Numbers (NINs). Consequently, telecommunication companies have been instructed to deactivate 12 million lines that remain unlinked to their owners’ NINs after the deadline.
Reuben Mouka, the Director of Public Affairs at NCC, confirmed this decision to The PUNCH on Wednesday, reiterating the commission’s position. He emphasized, “We already issued a public notice in this regard and all the information. If there was an extension, NCC would have communicated that. But as far as I know, there is no extension.”
In a notice issued in December 2023, the NCC directed telcos to deactivate SIMs that had not been linked to their owners’ NINs by February 28, 2024. Additionally, it instructed Global Satellite Mobile Communications firms to deactivate SIMs whose NINs had been submitted but not verified by March 29, 2024, and to interdict those with less than five lines linked to an unverified NIN by April 15, 2024.
Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), confirmed to The PUNCH that telecom operators would adhere to the NCC’s directive. He disclosed that out of the 224 million active lines, approximately 12 million lines were at risk of deactivation. Adebayo emphasized, “About 12 million SIM cards may not have been linked to NIN. Some of these SIM cards work on modems and mifi devices. According to the regulatory directives, those numbers that are not properly linked to NIN will have services withdrawn to them by midnight today. We stand by that regulatory directive and we are going to comply.”
Adebayo also dismissed speculations about a possible extension, stating that the deadline should have been met last year. He clarified, “No, the regulator has made it clear that there won’t be any further extension. Let us remember that this ought to have happened last year, but it was extended by the regulator till the 28th of February, 2024.”
Since the initial directive from the NCC to suspend SIM cards without NIN on December 15, 2020, there has been a significant increase in the number of people obtaining their NINs. Between the issuance of the order and the second deadline date on January 19, 2021, Nigerian mobile operators received 47.8 million new submissions from active subscribers. Despite this, in 2021, approximately 21 million subscribers were still yet to obtain their NINs as the registration deadline approached.
