Telecom subscribers who are interested in getting new SIM cards may have to wait longer as the Federal Government on Thursday said it has no plans to lift the ban placed on new registration.
The government had in December 2020 imposed the ban as part of an audit exercise “to verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operators with the set quality standards and requirements of SIM Card registration as issued by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Commission”.
The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) were directed to “immediately suspend the sale, registration and activation of new SIM cards until the audit exercise is concluded, and the government has conveyed the new direction”.
But when the government lifted the suspension order on the replacement of SIM cards in January, it was silent on sale of new SIMs.
Speaking at the sixth edition of the ministerial briefing by the Presidential Media Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Isa Pantami said the government has no plans to lift the ban.
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“The ban may affect our economy, but when it comes to addressing the issue of security, the economy takes backstage”, Pantami said, insisting that SIM registration carried out in the past compromised the system.
“The ban on new SIMs remains in place for security reasons. We know this ban is painful but very necessary. In the past, SIM registration process was compromised; most of the SIMs were improperly registered, hence we have most of the SIMs used to commit crimes in the country. So what we are doing now is matching all the SIMs with NIN. This has become necessary for security purposes.
“People used the biometrics of one person to register about 100 SIMs after people were given money. This is even as some SIMs were improperly registered.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions taken as a minister. It is a very painful decision, but we had to take it,” he said.
