The Federal Government of Nigeria has once again extended the deadline for the National Identity Number (NIN)-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) data verification exercise, pushing it to “the end of the year 2021.” This announcement, made by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), marks the seventh such extension since the NIN-SIM linkage initiative was first introduced in December 2020. The decision comes just three months after the previous extension and narrowly avoids the expiration of the October 31st deadline.

This latest extension was primarily driven by appeals from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and other key industry stakeholders. Their collective request sought more time to ensure better compliance with the government’s directive and to prevent a widening of the digital divide across the nation. The NCC highlighted that this extension is intended to create an enabling environment for the registration of Nigerians in remote areas, those in the diaspora, students in schools, patients in hospitals, worshippers at religious centers, as well as foreigners, diplomatic missions, and other previously unreachable communities, thereby increasing overall enrolments, including in countries with significant Nigerian populations.

The public sentiment also played a significant role, as telecom subscribers across the country had been actively clamoring for a further extension in the face of the rapidly approaching deadline. Adeolu Ogunbajo, president of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, specifically stressed the importance of extending the deadline until the end of the year. He argued for a two-month grace period, encompassing November and December, to allow users to complete their SIM verification process, stating, “Another two months won’t be bad. We are pleading for a two-month extension – November and December – so that full implementation of the security policy can start in January.”

Despite the challenges, a review of the exercise’s progress indicates substantial achievements. Over 66 million unique National Identity Numbers (NIN) have been issued, signifying considerable advancement in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage. According to NCC reports, more than 180 million telephone lines have been successfully linked with NINs out of approximately 320 million connected lines recorded as of August 2021. Considering an average of three SIM cards per subscriber, this implies that around 60 million unique NINs have now been connected to phone numbers from an estimated 107 million unique telecoms subscribers in the country.

In light of this extension, the Honourable Minister, through the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and the Director-General/CEO of NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, has urged all Nigerians and legal residents to seize this crucial opportunity. They implore individuals to utilize the extended window to complete their NIN enrolments and link them with their SIM cards before the end of 2021, reinforcing the government’s commitment to robust national identity management and security.