The Nigerian Communications Commission has said that Nigerians without National Identity Number (NIN) will soon be unable to acquire driving licences and passports.
Truetells Nigeria reports that the Commission also added that October 31 remains the deadline for Nigerians to link their NIN to their phone lines.
This was disclosed on Wednesday, September 29, in a statement titled “NIN-SIM Integration: NCC sensitises telecom consumers on October 31 Deadline” signed by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde.
The sensitization programme by the NCC was done via a Lagos radio station, with Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, advising Nigerians to make use of the extension of the NIN-SIM integration exercise to October 31, 2021, to enrol with NIMC, get their NINs and link them to their SIMs.
A statement released following the sensitization programme reads: “NCC has reminded and urged telecoms consumers to link their NINs with their SIMs before the expiration of the deadline of October 31, 2021 set by the Federal Government.”
Adinde said:Â “Soon, people without NIN will be denied of necessary services that play vital roles in their lives including acquisition of driving licence, passport.”
Adinde added that the NIN-SIM integration is beneficial because it will “significantly enhance national security as NIN is the primary identity for Nigerians, stressing that in line with Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that Nigeria deploys technology to improve service delivery, the NIN-SIM database will enhance citizens’ access to government services.”
Also speaking on the show, NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau of NCC, Efosa Idehen, said, “Those SIMs without unique identification could be used to commit crimes that remain untraceable.”