Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has underscored the benefits of linking the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) of telecommunications subscribers with the National Identification Number (NIN), reports ITREALMS.
Bawa made this known recently while addressing the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM data linkage chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, in Abuja.
He said that the NIN-SIM linkage would evidently “support the Federal Government in checkmating the activities of fraudsters and cybercriminals.”
ITREALMS gathered that task force affirmed this from key stakeholders session in Abuja which included the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Representative of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Glo.
The meeting took place on Thursday, April 1, 2021 and an approval was given to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to the 6th of May, 2021.
The request for the extension was presented to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it.
Based on the updates of the NIN-registration process, over 51 million people have been assigned NINs. There are many people, who have enrolled and are in the process of being assigned NINs. With each individual having an average of 3 to 4 SIMs, the total number of SIMs tied to NINs would be close to the total number of registered SIMs in the country.
The Honourable Minister noted the importance of obtaining feedback from all stakeholders in order to ensure that the NIN-SIM linkage process is one that cannot easily be compromised.
Dr. Pantami wishes to thank Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.
He restated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.
Nenye Dom/Editor
No comments:
Post a Comment