Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to revise the policy on SIM card registration and usage, stating that the National Identity Number (NIN) should be made a prerequisite for the registration of new SIM cards.
This was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant on Information Technology to the minister.
The statement said the move is in line with the powers of the minister as stated in Section 25(1) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003- “the Minister shall, in writing, from time to time notify the Commission or and express his views on the general policy direction of the Federal Government in respect of the communications sector.”
It also said the revision of the policy is based on feedback received from security agencies following the successful revalidation of improperly registered SIM cards in September 2019 and the blocking of those that failed to revalidate their SIMs.
According to the statement, the updated policy is expected to include the following provisions, among others: “Ensure that the National Identity Number (NIN) becomes a prerequisite for Nigerians registering new SIM cards (while for foreigners, their passports and visas should be used), while already registered SIM cards are to be updated with NIN before 1st December, 2020.
“Ensure that only fully accredited agents support the SIM card registration process without pre-registering SIM cards themselves, while the eventual registration should be done by the operators.”
