The Nigerian government has again extended the deadline for the National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification to July 26, the sixth time it would approve an extension for the exercise.
The federal government stated this on Monday in a statement jointly signed by the spokesperson Nigeria Communication Communication, Ikechukwu Adinde, and Nigeria Identity Management Commission, Kayode Adegoke.
The decision to extend the deadline was made after a request by “stakeholders” on the need to consolidate the enrollment and NIN-SIM verification following the rapid increase in the number of enrolment systems across the country.
“As at June 28, 2021, a total of 5,410 enrolment systems are now available across the country and this would significantly ease the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM. It is worthy of note that there were only about 800 such enrolment systems as at December 2020,” the statement read.
“The Federal Government has approved the extension as part of its efforts to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension.
“There are now a total of 57.3 million unique NIN enrolments, with average of 3 to 4 SIMs per NIN. With the great number of enrolment centres across the country, every citizen and legal resident should be able to obtain their NINs.”
The statement also quoted Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s minister of communications and digital economy, as saying, on behalf of the federal government, he appreciated citizens for their patience and compliance with the directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.
By Abel Ejikeme