The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said there will be no mass disconnection of telecom subscribers as a result of the ongoing linkage of National Identity Numbers (NINs) records to SIM registration.
NCC in a statement Wednesday night said the clarification was necessary in order to allay the fears of subscribers and the general public.
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The commission’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Adinde, who signed the statement said many Nigerians had already linked their NIN to their SIM and there shouldn’t be any fear of mass disconnection.
“A recent survey conducted in Nigeria has shown that on average, there are now approximately 4 to 5 SIMs to every human subscriber.
“This explains the basis of allowing the linkage of up to 7 SIMs to 1 unique NIN in the recently launched Federal Government Portal,” Adinde said.
He said if there are 43 million Nigerians with NINs, this could account for about 172 million SIMs already linked to NINs.
He emphasized that the current exercise of linking NIN to SIM(s) is for the common good of all Nigerians, as it has far reaching benefits.
“Apart from enhancing our general safety, this will help in such vital exercises like National Budgeting, Policy Planning, Social Intervention programs and many more”, the NCC spokesman said.
The Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ali Pantami had assured that the Federal Government would continue to review the exercise in the light of experiences to ensure its smooth implementation.
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