NCC announces 14 Sept., as final deadline for NIN-SIM linkage

NCC announces 14 Sept., final deadline for NIN-SIM linkage

By Fashina Shakiru

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced today September 14, 2024, as the final deadline for Nigerians for the ongoing SIM-NIN linkage exercise.

This announcement contained in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, NCC said the target is to achieve 100% compliance by the said date.

According to him, “To ensure full compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage policy, the NCC has directed all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to complete the mandatory verification and linkage of SIMs to NINs by September 14, 2024.

“Effective September 15, 2024, the Commission expects that no SIM operating in Nigeria will be without a valid NIN.

“We urge all members of the public who have not yet completed their NIN-SIM linkage, or who have faced issues due to verification mismatches, to visit their service providers promptly to update their details before the deadline. Alternatively, the approved self-service portals are available for this purpose,” the Commission said in its statement.

The telecom regulator, to date, over 153 million SIMs have been successfully linked to a NIN, reflecting an impressive compliance rate of 96%, a substantial increase from 69.7% in January 2024.

This, however, showed there are still millions of lines yet to be linked with NIN. As of March 2024, data from the NCC shows that there were 219 million active lines across the mobile networks of MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile.