The Federal Government has extended the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to July 26, 2021.
This was contained in a joint statement released on Monday by the Director of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde; and the Head of Corporate Communications, Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke.
The statement, titled ‘FG approves July 26 as NIN-SIM verification deadline as enrolment systems increase to 5,410,’ stated that the decision to further extend the deadline was made based on a request by stakeholders.
The statement read, “The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to the 26th of July, 2021.
“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.
“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 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 centers across the country, every citizen and legal resident should be able to obtain their NINs.”
The statement quoted Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, as appreciating Nigerians for their tolerance and consent with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.
It also quoted the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Dambatta; and the Director-General/CEO of NIMC, Aliyu Azeez, as urging citizens and legal residents to make sure they use the opportunity of the extension to complete the process of enrolment and verification.