This was made known in a press release jointly issued by the
Director, Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr.
Ikechukwu Adinde, and the Head, Corporate Communications, Nigeria Identify
Management Commission, Mr. Kayode
Adegoke on Wednesday, March 3, where they revealed the communiqué on a meeting
chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali
Ibrahim Pantami.
According to the communiqué, approval was given for the
extension of the tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licenses for MNOs from 1 to 5
years in consideration of their satisfactory performance, subject to continuous
monitoring, saying this is a deliberate effort of the Federal Government to
simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians and legal residents.
“The Technical Committee was mandated to complete the
development of a new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised. This
will ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised
through pre-registration by some agents.
“A Multi-Sectoral Adhoc Committee was tasked to immediately
complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal
residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months. The membership of the
Committee was drawn from NCC, NIMC, Nigeria Immigration Service and the
Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON)”.
“The Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration held
its 4th Review Meeting on Friday, February 26, 2021. The meeting was chaired by
the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali
Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM.
“Key stakeholders who joined the Honourable Minister
included 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), Comptroller-General of the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of
Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). Others included the
NCC Executive Commissioners for Technical Services and Stakeholder Management,
MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as
the COO of Glo.
“Furthermore, MNOs that already have Service Centres in
important and critical locations in LGAs, are expected to upgrade these Centres
to a level where they can qualify as SIM Swap Centres in order to reduce the
challenges associated with the SIM Swap/Replacement process for the citizens.
The purpose is to bring SIM Swap Centres closer to Nigerians regardless of
their location”.
The Minister also tasked the NCC, working with the NIMCand
MNOs, to come up with a framework for the establishment of SIM Swap/Replacement
Centres in each of the 774 LGAs in the country, beginning with critical and
feasible locations.
The EVC of NCC, Prof Danbatta, briefed the meeting on the
outcome of the Senate Investigative Hearing on 5G Deployment in Nigeria, which
took place on February 25, 2021. He extolled the Minister for making an eloquent
presentation to dispel fears about the public health and security implications
of 5G, as well as making a case for this new technology in the country. All
stakeholders agreed on the need for the country to deploy 5G technology.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR was briefed on the
activities of the Ministerial Task Force. He strongly commended the achievement
recorded so far and urged the Minister and other stakeholders to maintain the
tempo.
“The Honourable Minister also appreciated Nigerians for
their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the
NIN-SIM registration exercise, which has many benefits to the country and its
citizens. He assured of government’s commitment to continually take decisions
aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN
and SIM registration”.
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