The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to the 26th of July, 2021.
A statement on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, jointly signed by the NCC,
Ikechukwu Adinde, the director, Public Affairs, and NIMC Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Kayode Adegoke, said the decision to extend the deadline was made after a request by stakeholders on the need to consolidate the enrolment and NIN-SIM verification process following the rapid increase in the number of enrolment systems across the country.
The statement also indicated that the enrolment systems are now available across the country as at June 28, 2021, noting that this would significantly ease the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM.
Recall that there were only about 800 such enrolment systems as at December 2020 until the recent increase.
According to the statement, the Federal Government approved the extension as part of its effort to make it easier for citizens and residents to obtain the NIN, and stressed the need for the citizens 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.
Commenting on the development, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, commended Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise, assuring that the government would continue to make the process seamless.
On their part, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Garba Dambatta, and the Director-General/CEO of that National Identity Management Commission, Engr Aliyu Azeez, urge citizens and legal residents to make sure they use the opportunity to complete the process of enrolment and verification.
