The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has explained why some telecommunications subscribers who previously linked their SIM cards to their National Identification Numbers (NINs) have their mobile lines barred.
Reuben Muoka, Director, Public Affairs at the NCC said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, “People who probably didn’t get a cleared or verified NIN” have been barred because “the earlier ones they submitted were not good.”
Muoka said some SIM cards have verification and identification issues like disparity in information such as names and other data.
“There are still some subscribers whose NINs are yet to be verified by NIMC and those have to also be corrected,” he said.
Recall that many telecom subscribers have complained that they had previously linked their NIN with their SIM cards years ago.
However, Muoka said some lines were barred because the information on the NIN did not tally with what the customers registered with their SIM cards.
He said subscribers will have to visit the outlets of their service providers to validate their NINs and resolve other matters.
“For now, it requires those physical visits to the stations to get it verified and validated but in the future, we hope that this will be done virtually,” Muoka said.
Recall that the NCC had last week issued a directive to telecom service providers to bar subscribers who have failed to link their phone numbers to their NIN on or before February 28, 2024.
Media reports had it that millions of lines were barred last week at the expiration of the deadline but Muoka disclosed that the NCC has been going through one deadline after the other since 2022 “to give extension for convenience but it is time to get to a closure.”
“Take it that everybody who has not submitted his NIN to the service providers has been barred. The service providers started barring people many days before the deadline,” he said.
On the number of phone lines so far barred, Muoka said it will be difficult to tell the actual number of phone lines that have been barred but disclosed that the NCC will do an audit before the end of the week as data are expected from service providers.
He said the NIN-SIM linkage has an objective which is to make Nigerians have digital identity to tackle security matters.
According to Muoka, “The whole essence is actually to achieve the convenience that digital services and products will offer. By the time you have your identity together, you will be able to attend to a number of things.
“Even the banks are now asking their customers to link their NINs to their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs). It is actually to make a holistic package of all your digital services.”
(Additional reports from Channelstv.com)