After the September 14 deadline set by the Nigerian Communications Commission, telecom operators are expected to start disconnecting mobile phone lines that are not linked to national identification numbers.
In an August statement, the NCC said it does not expect SIM cards to remain active without a verified NIN after September 15.
The telecom regulator had urged subscribers who have not completed the NIN-SIM linking or are facing issues due to validation errors to immediately visit their service provider to update their details before the deadline.
As of March 2024, NCC data showed that there were 219 million active lines on mobile networks such as MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile, of which 153 million have already been linked to an NIN. This means that about 66 million lines that are not connected are at risk of being disconnected. Between July 28 and 29, millions of lines were temporarily blocked due to unverified NINs, causing widespread disruption across the country. The NCC later revised its decision, giving subscribers more time to comply. But now that the deadline has passed, the shutdowns will begin.
Speaking to The Journalists, an NCC official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to comment on the matter, denied the possibility of an extension.
“We will ban those who do not comply. The grace period has ended.” The reason for the previous extension of the deadline was due to misunderstandings among Nigerians who claim that the NCC wants to thwart the August 1 protests.
The official clarified that the commission has no intention of intentionally blocking subscribers. “A significant number of Nigerians have opted not to link their SIMs to their NIN for various reasons.
“While there may be challenges at the Centres, it remains crucial to revisit and complete the process. Let me be clear—there will be no further extensions,” the official stressed.
A few weeks ago, subscribers expressed frustration over the difficulties they face in uploading their data to the National Identity Management Commission portal. Chairman of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, described the situation as “terrible” after visiting some telecommunications hubs including MTN and Airtel.
He earlier told our correspondent that existing issues with the portal were preventing the timely completion of NIN-SIM linking, adding that “if immediate action is not taken, subscribers will struggle to meet the deadline.”
He argued that the NCC should consider extending the deadline as technical issues affected the registration process last week.
“NCC must be commended after a series of extensions but I believe they can still do that for maybe one week,” he told Journalists.
In March, NIMC and NCC strengthened their partnership to streamline the NIN-SIM linking process. Both agencies have launched awareness campaigns, training of stakeholders and dissemination of accurate information to ensure citizens adhere to the guidelines. According to their financial results for the first half of 2024, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa have together suspended 13.5 million lines for non-compliance with the NIN-SIM linking policy.
MTN reported blocking 8.6 million lines, while Airtel said 8.7 million of its customers had completed verification.
The mandate to link NIN and SIM cards began in December 2020 when the government instructed telecom companies to block unregistered SIMs and SIMs without NIN linking.
After several deadline extensions by the NCC since December 2023, April 15, 2024 was set as the final deadline to completely block subscribers with four or fewer SIMs with unverified NIN data.
