The two telecoms giants listed on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa have explained to the investing public the reasons for the phased suspension of services to subscribers who’s SIMs are not associated with National Identity Number (NIN).
Following a directive issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on 7 December 2020 to all Nigerian telecom operators, the Telecommunication Companies have been working with the government to ensure that all their subscribers provide their valid National Identification Numbers (NINs) to update SIM registration records.
To complete the registration process, we must link the NIN information received with the SIM of the respective subscribers and share the same with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
The original regulatory directive set an initial deadline for customers to register their NIN with their SIM of 30 December 2020. This was subsequently moved several times, with the latest deadline set for 31 March 2022.
Telecommunication companies have notified that with effect from 4 April 2022, all SIMs that have not been linked to a NIN will be placed on ‘receive only’ status with immediate effect. Subscribers of such lines can still link their SIMs to their NINs in order that these restrictions can be lifted. Customers are therefore being given a final opportunity to fully comply with the latest registration requirements.