The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has urged Nigerians to complete the NIN-SIM linkage exercise in the next few days
What’s happening
Nigerians, by this directive, are required to link their sim cards with their unique national identity number, NIN. Although the Federal Government has postponed the deadline ten times since inception, the call for Nigerians to complete the linkage is louder than ever, as the Nigerian government says it would help the fight against insecurity.
The NIN-SIM linkage program initiated by the Federal Government in December 2020 provides security agencies in the country with a database to monitor telecommunications activities, amongst other possibilities.
By the numbers
Data from March 21st 2022 shows that the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, has issued 77.1 million NINs in Nigeria so far. While Nigerian males make for 43.3 million, females account for the rest 33.7 million.
Geographic registrations show that Lagos State leads with 8.89 million, Kano State follows with 6.3 million and Kaduna State wraps the top three with 4.5 million. Other States with high numbers of registrations are Ogun State with 3.14 million, Oyo State with 3.13 million and Abuja, 2.88 million.
Ministers Charge
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has called on the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, to work around the clock in order to meet the enrollment demands of Nigerians over the next few days.