By Babajide Okeowo
Following the surge of mammoth crowd that besieged the Lagos office of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to register for the National Identification Number (NIN), the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced an extension of the period of the exercise.
To this effect, a three (3) weeks extension was granted for subscribers with NIN, from 30th December 2020 to 19th January 2021 while a six (6) weeks extension was granted to subscribers without NIN, starting from 30th December 2020 to 9th February 2021.
This announcement was made in a press statement issued and signed by Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director-General, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), after the meeting held by the National Task Force on National Identification Number (NIN) and SIM Registration.
According to the statement “NIMC has provided strategies to enable citizens to attend the registration in full compliance with Covid-19 protocols – particularly the use of facemasks which remains mandatory and maintenance of social distancing.
The President appreciates Nigerians for their patience and commitment to update their identities; while he thanked all stakeholders for their compliance with the directives.
Mr. President also commended the efforts of the Task Force and urged all stakeholders to take advantage of the extension to link their SIM card with their NIN.
USSD and verification charges remain suspended during these extensions” the statement reads.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, with major stakeholders in the sector including Chairman-NCC, EVC-NCC, DG-NITDA, DG-NIMC, ECTS/ECSM-NCC, Chairman ALTON, CEOs of MTN, Airtel, Ntel, Glo, Smile, and 9Moble in attendance.
