Federal government has restated that after February 9, 2020 any sim card not linked with the National Identification Number (NIN) will be shutdown.
In a statement issued by Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, Director of Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde, on Tuesday, January 20, he insisted that February 9, is the last day for the full linkage of the National Identification Number (NIN) with SIMs.
He said telecom operators have been told to shut down SIMs not linked with NIN after the last day, this is even as Nigerians have been begging for extension of the exercise following the outdated facilities of the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC) impending the full integration of subscribers into the NCC database.
Also, NCC, through the Technical Implementation Committee (TIC) under the Ministerial Task Force (MTF), said there is no going back on its decision. It, however, expressed satisfaction over the turnout so far.
Adindu stated that 47.8 million subscribers have submitted their NIN to their respective service providers.
“So far, a total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by the mobile operators. At an average of 3 to 4 SIMs per subscriber. “This means many millions will be linked up before the deadline in February 202,” he said.