House of Reps ask NCC to extend deadline for NIN registration on Sim cards

 

The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to jettison the two weeks deadline for linking SIM cards to National Identity Number (NIN) and extend the deadline.

 

The NCC at an emergency meeting chaired by the Communications Minister, Isa Pantami, asked telecommunications company to block all sim cards that are not linked with a National Identity Number within the next two weeks.

During plenary on Wednesday December 16, the house observed that the timing for Nigerians to link their sim cards with their NINs was too short.

The decision to call for an extension came after a motion of urgent public importance was moved by the Minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu.

Elumelu in his motion explained that the House agrees with the policy of linking SIM cards to NIN and that the policy is consistent with the position of the House. He however noted that Nigerians haven’t been adequately sensitized and that calling for registration at this time could lead to a stampede and exploitation. Emphasizing the need for the extension, Mr Elumelu said two weeks was too little for the over 200 million Nigerians, especially considering the Christmas period.