The Nigerian Communications Commission has announced September 14, 2024, as the final deadline for Nigerians to complete the ongoing SIM-NIN linkage exercise.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka via its official X handle on Wednesday.
NCC stated that the target is to achieve 100% compliance by the said date.
This means that all lines not linked by September 14 would be blocked by the network operators.
In the statement, NCC said that over 153 million SIMs have been successfully linked to a National Identification Number, achieving a 96% compliance rate, up from 69.7% in January 2024.
However, millions of active lines remain unlinked. As of March 2024, there were 219 million active lines across major networks, including MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile.
In addition to linking, the NCC emphasizes that all submitted NINs must be verified.
Telecom operators have identified data irregularities as a significant barrier to the verification process, affecting millions of customers.
“To ensure full compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage policy, the NCC has directed all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to complete the mandatory verification and linkage of SIMs to NINs by September 14, 2024.
“Effective September 15, 2024, the Commission expects that no SIM operating in Nigeria will be without a valid NIN.
“We urge all members of the public who have not yet completed their NIN-SIM linkage, or who have faced issues due to verification mismatches, to visit their service providers promptly to update their details before the deadline. Alternatively, the approved self-service portals are available for this purpose,” the Commission said in its statement.
Between July 28 and 29, numerous telecom subscribers were unable to make or receive phone calls as operators barred millions of lines due to unverified NINs, in compliance with the NCC’s directive.
The sudden disconnection caused widespread chaos, with frustrated customers crowding telecom stores, leading to violent incidents.
This turmoil coincided with a planned nationwide protest scheduled for August 1 to 10, further heightening tensions.
