The Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration has approved the establishment of SIM Swap Centres by Mobile Network Operators
MNOs across all Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria to ease retrieval of stolen and lost Sim cards.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Nigerian Communications Commission in a press statement signed by its spokesperson, Ikechukwu Adinde.
The federal government had on December 9, announced the suspension of the sale and activation of new SIM cards across networks.
The suspension order according to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was expected to last till the completion of the audit of the Subscriber Registration Database, which seeks to achieve global standards and quality in the issuance of SIM Cards
The federal government on 31 December 2020, lifted the ban on replacement and activation of SIM on the condition that the person must have enrolled and obtained the National Identification Number, NIN.
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However, the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration during its’ 4th Review Meeting on Friday, February 26, 2021 resolved that MNOs establishes dedicated SIM Swap Centres across the Local Government Areas, LGAs, in Nigeria
Also, approval was given for the extension of the tenure of NIN Enrolment Agent Licenses for MNOs from 1 to 5 years in consideration of their satisfactory performance, subject to continuous monitoring. This is a deliberate effort of the Federal Government to simplify the enrolment process for Nigerians and legal residents;
Other resolutions made by the Task Force include:
“The Technical Committee was mandated to complete the development of a new SIM issuance strategy that cannot be compromised. This will ensure that there is no repeat of the past process that was compromised through pre-registration by some agents; and
A Multi-Sectoral Adhoc Committee was tasked to immediately complete the review of the processes for new SIM activations for legal residents staying in Nigeria for less than 24 months. The membership of the Committee was drawn from NCC, NIMC, Nigeria Immigration Service and the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, ALTON.”
According to the Task Force, MNOs that already have Service Centres in important and critical locations in LGAs, are expected to upgrade these Centres to a level where they can qualify as SIM Swap Centres in order to reduce the challenges associated with the SIM Swap/Replacement process for the citizens. The purpose is to bring SIM Swap Centres closer to Nigerians regardless of their location.
The meeting was Chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami. other stakeholders include the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo.
