The federal government has extended registration for the National Identity Number (NIN) by up to six weeks, from December 30 to February 9, 2021, and cancelled the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges for verification across the country.
The National Task Force on the NIN and Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) registration made the announcement on Tuesday, in Abuja, in a statement jointly signed by the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Prof. Umar Danbatta, and the director general of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Aliyu Aziz.
The action followed resolutions adopted at a meeting chaired by the minister of communications and digital economy, Dr Isa Pantami.
According to the resolutions, there would be “Three weeks extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021. Six weeks extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021, while USSD and verification charges remain suspended during these extensions.”
Pantami said: “NIMC has provided strategies to enable citizens to attend the registration in full compliance with COVID-19 protocols, particularly the use of facemasks, which remains mandatory, and maintenance of social distancing”.
He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has commended Nigerians for their patience and commitment to update their Identities and thanked all stakeholders for their compliance with the directives.
The minister said the president also commended the efforts of the task force and urged all stakeholders to take advantage of the extension to link their SIM cards with their NIN.
