NIN-SIM: 72 Million Customers Unable To Make Calls Amid FG’s Intervention

Following a decree from the Federal Government to telecommunication firms, over 72.77 million active telecommunication subscribers have been prohibited from making calls on their SIM cards.

The Federal Government issued an order on Monday ordering telecommunications firms to enforce compliance with its National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module policy by blocking outbound calls on all unlinked lines until the verification deadline of March 31 passed.

This decision was stated in a joint statement signed by the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Nigeria Identity Management Commission’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Kayode Adegoke.

According to the announcement, over 78 million unique NINs have been granted, and 125 million SIMs have submitted their NINs for linking. It claimed that the NIN-SIM linking date had been extended several times to allow Nigerians to comply with the program.

It stated, “Accordingly, Mr. President graciously approved the many requests to extend deadlines for the NIN-SIM linkage. At this point, however, the government has determined that the NIN-SIM policy implementation can proceed, as machinery has already been put in place to ensure compliance by citizens and legal residents.