The Federal Government of Nigeria has approved the extension of the NIN-SIM data verification deadline to the 30th of June, 2021.
This was disclosed in a virtual meeting chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami on Tuesday.
The meeting was also attended by Chairman Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Adeolu Akande, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC Prof Umar Garba Dambatta and the Director-General National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Engr Aliyu Aziz.
NCC public affairs heads,Dr Ikechukwu Adinde and Mr Kayode Adegoke said in a joint statement on Tuesday that the postponement of the deadline was also based on the request by stakeholders for an extension till 30th of June in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register.
However, “Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process. For example, almost 54 million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 million mobile numbers, since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to 3 to 4 phone lines.”
The statement added that “the much awaited Android enrolment system is now ready for deployment and this has the potential to significantly accelerate the speed and ease of enrolments.”