Some Nigerians are very, very upset with the NCC, as you read this. Their anger, YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine gathered, stems from a new directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission that all subscribers must get their National Identification Numbers in two weeks or have their SIM cards blocked.
Other that the time which they insist is so short, the difficulty that many go through just to get their NINs was also mentioned.
In fact, a fellow who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity said ‘the directive has failed already…I mean, it’s obvious that those pushing it didn’t think it through…Two weeks to get NIN? Some people, sadly, have been on theirs for over one year now and now you want everybody to get it in two weeks? Did they also factor in the season we are currently in? How about COVID-19 protocols? How will over 100 million Nigerians be attended to at the offices of the telcos in just two weeks without contravening that and also spreading the virus, especially now that there’s a spike? The whole directive, as far as I’m concerned, is dead on arrival…It can’t fly…Anyway, lawyers and rights activists will soon go to court to challenge it…I trust them to protest and challenge this ill-thought out directive…´ He went on and on, and obviously very angry.
Another fellow who spoke to us summed up the NCC directive thus: ‘Our government, from the look of things, enjoys seeing us in pains. Because other than that, nothing else can explain this obnoxious act or whatever. But we shall see whether or not they won’t reverse it. Haba!’ He lamented.
Below, meanwhile, is the full text of the directive which may obviously not fly, going by the quantum of criticism currently trailing it:
IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW SIM REGISTRATION RULES
WRITTEN BY MEDIA TEAM PUBLISHED: 15 DECEMBER 2020
Following the earlier directive on the suspension of new SIM registration by network operators, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) convened an urgent meeting of key stakeholders in the Communications industry on Monday, December 14, 2020.
The meeting had in attendance the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as well as the CEOs and Management staff of all service providers in the industry.
At the meeting, the need to consolidate the achievements of last year’s SIM registration audit and improve the performance and sanity of the sector was exhaustively discussed and all stakeholders agreed that urgent drastic measures have now become inevitable to improve the integrity and transparency of the SIM registration process.
To this end, the following decisions were taken for immediate implementation by all Network Operators:
i.Affirmation of the earlier directive to totally suspend registration of NEW SIMs by all operators.
ii.Operators to require ALL their subscribers to provide valid National Identification Number (NIN) to update SIM registration records.
iii.The submission of NIN by subscribers to take place within two weeks (from today December 16, 2020 and end by 30 December, 2020).
iv.After the deadline, ALL SIMs without NINs are to be blocked from the networks.
v.A Ministerial Task Force comprising the Minister and all the CEOs (among others) as members is to monitor compliance by all networks.
vi.Violations of this directive will be met by stiff sanctions, including the possibility of withdrawal of operating license.
The general public is hereby urged to ensure that their NINs are captured in their SIM registration data.
All inconveniences which might be occasioned by this directive are deeply regretted.
Signed:
Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde
Director, Public Affairs
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
December 15, 2020