Telecom subscribers risk disconnection by February 8, 2024 upon failure to link their National Identity Numbers (NIN) with their SIM cards.
This was made known by MTN Nigeria via a statement of the company to the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
According to the company, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed all mobile Telecommunication operators in the country to deregister all phone lines without National Identity Numbers and those whose NINs have not been verified.
The statement which was signed by the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, for MTN Nigeria said, “This is part of an industry-wide directive that requires phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs to be barred on or before 28 February 2024. About NINs that have been submitted but not verified, such lines are to be barred on or before 29 March 2024, where five or more lines are linked to an unverified NIN.
“As part of these efforts, we are enhancing the capacity of our various service outlets to make the process smoother and more efficient. We are committed to ensuring that our subscribers comply with the NCC directive and will continue to work with the National Identity Management Commission to accelerate the NIN verification process,” he stated.
Ukpanah, however, expressed the company’s readiness to cooperate with the Federal Government in ensuring compliance with the industry-wide directive from NCC.
He said, “As a law-abiding corporate citizen and in line with our operating licence requirements, we are committed to complying with the industry-wide directive from the NCC and will provide further updates to investors on progress and potential impact with the release of FY 2023 results.”
When we contacted NCC, a staff of the Commission who didn’t want to be mentioned said, “I am not aware of this development, but I feel it must be one of those directives that go to the operators through our legal and regulatory services department.
“Such directives do not come through Public Affairs.”
The umbrella body of the telcos, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said it has agreed to abide by the Nigerian Communications Commission’s NCC directive to delist telephone lines without the NIN.
However, the telcos say, despite the limited service restriction, millions of subscribers have yet to submit their NINs for verification.
Consequently, the NCC issued another directive on December 15, 2023 for telecommunications operators to commence full network barring of the affected MSISDNs on the effective dates.
Reacting to the directive, ALTON on behalf of its members, said: “We, refer to the NCC directive dated 15 December 2023 communicated to our members to implement full network barring on all MSISDNs for which the subscribers have not submitted their national identity numbers (NINs) and those without verified NINs.
“The NCC has directed our members as provided below: That all MSISDNs for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs, are to be barred on or before 28 February 2024.
“That where five or more MSISDNs are linked to an unverified NIN, such MSISDNs are to be barred on or before 29 March 2024.
“Where less than 5 MSISDNs are linked to an unverified NIN, such MSISDNs are to be barred on or before 15 April 2024.
“All affected subscribers must be verified (biometrics and biodata) before their lines are unbarred.
“The public will recall that the Federal Government commenced implementing the SIM/NIN harmonisation program in December 2020 through the NCC. This program requires all telecommunications subscribers to link their NINs to SIM registration records to avoid service restrictions.
“The linking involves validating the NIN with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and matching the subscriber’s NIN records with the SIM registration information (verification) to ensure proper subscriber identification.
“Following the directive of the NCC, which took effect on 4 April 2022, all MSISDNs for which the subscribers failed to submit their NINs were placed on outgoing call restriction only, and the affected subscribers were advised to verify their NINs before being reactivated.
“Despite the limited service restriction, millions of subscribers have yet to submit their NINs for verification. Consequently, the NCC issued this directive dated 15 December 2023 for telecommunications operators to commence full network barring of the affected MSISDNs on the effective dates.
“The importance of the NIN cannot be overemphasised. It is crucial for a reliable and sustainable National Identity Management System in Nigeria. It enables economic inclusion and access to government services and helps address security concerns. Supporting the NIN initiative is necessary for a thriving digital economy and building a safer society. Therefore, our members are committed to implementing the directive as law-abiding corporate citizens who are highly supportive of the government’s objective to build a digital economy.”
It added, “We, therefore, wish to appeal to esteemed subscribers to kindly enroll for NINs or submit their NINs through the appropriate channel advertised by members to avoid full suspension of services by the set deadlines.”