On the 26th of February 2021, a 4th Review Meeting was held by the Ministerial Task Force on NIN-SIM registration. The meeting was Chaired by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ili Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM.
The Honorable minister was joined at the meeting by Key Stakeholders. In attendance was the EVC/CEO of Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC),DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC), also the DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency(NITDA),Comptroller- General of the Nigeria Immigration Service(NIS) and the Chairman of Association Of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Others people included were the Executive Commissioners for Technical Services and Stakeholders Management ,MD/CEOs of MTN,AIRTEL,EMTS(9Mobile),NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE as well as COO of the GLO network.
A number of resolutions were taken at the meeting, which includes:
- Approval was given to MNOs for the establishment of dedicated SIM Swap Centres across the Local Government Areas(LGAs) In Nigeria
- 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 perfomance,subject to continous monitoring. This is a deliberate effort of the Federal Government to simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians an legal residents.
- The Technical Committee was mandated to complete the development of new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised. This will ensure that there is no compromise through pre-registration by some agents.
- A Multi-Sectoral Adhoc Committee was tasked to immediately complete the review of the processes for the new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months. The membership of the Commitee was drawn from NCC,NIMC,Nigeria Immigration Service and the Association of Licenced Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Also, 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 citizens. The purpse is to bring SIM Swap Centres closer to Nigerians regardless of their location.
The Minister also tasked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),working with the National Identity Management Commission(NIMC) and 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 the 25th of February,2021. He extolled the Honourable Minister for making an eloquent presentation to dispel fears about the publuc heath 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 achiements 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. 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.
