Federal Government has extended the deadline for NIN-SIM linkage from April 6 to May 6, 2021.

The request for the extension was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed in a statement on Friday.

Pantami said the current number of monthly enrolment has increased significantly to about 2.6 million.

“The meeting took place on Thursday, April 1, 2021 and an approval was given to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to the 6th of May, 2021. The request for the extension was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it,” read the statement jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde of NCC and Kayode Adegoke of NIMC.

“With each individual having an average of 3 to 4 SIMs, the total number of SIMs tied to NINs would be close to the total number of registered SIMs in the country.”

There has also been a remarkable increase in the number of enrolment centres across the country with about 3,800 centres available for enrolment, according to the statement.

There are also many more new centres in the pipeline, it added.

“Chairman of the EFCC addressed the meeting and stated that the NIN-SIM linkage would support the Federal Government in checkmating the activities of fraudsters and cybercriminals. The Minister noted the importance of obtaining feedback from all stakeholders in order to ensure that the NIN-SIM linkage process is one that cannot easily be compromised,” the statement said.

The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Representative of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and Chairman of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as COO of Glo.

Daily Trust