Both men had in a statement in June announced October 31 as the deadline for the linkage of SIM and NIN. But the government has extended the deadline by additional two months.
“The decision to extend the deadline was made further to appeals by the mobile network operators and other industry stakeholders, soliciting for a further extension to ensure better compliance with government’s directive and to avoid widening the digital divide,” the statement released on Saturday said.
“The extension would also provide the enabling environment for the registration of Nigerians in remote areas, diaspora, schools, hospitals, worship centers, as well as foreigners, diplomatic missions, those in other areas that were hitherto unreachable, and increase enrolments in countries with a significant number of Nigerians.
” According to the statement, the review of the progress of the exercise shows that over 66 million unique NINs have been issued – an indication of progress achieved in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage.
The government promised to ensure that all innocent and law-abiding citizens and residents do not lose access to their phone lines as long as they obtain and link their NIN, saying it would continue to provide an enabling environment for investors in the telecommunications sector
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