NIN: Telecoms Finally Speaks On Why Your Unlinked SIMs Were Barred
Hush Gist
05 April 2022
The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria have finally spoken on why some unlinked sims were barred from making calls.
According to a statement released by the association and made available to the press, they were acting in adherence to directives from the Federal Government asking its members to bar outgoing calls of subscribers who are yet integrate their SIM with their National Identification Number.
Recall that the deadline for the NIN-SIM linkage elapsed on March 31, creating uncertainty among members of the public, especially those who’ve not done the exercise, as to what the next line of action of the government will be.
At the last minute, the government pushed for the linkage and on Friday, directed Nigerians to ensure they completed the verification and linkage of their NINs to their SIMs within days.
Subsequently, the federal government said it would no longer extend the deadline as it has done that eight times since the commencement of the exercise.
The government then ordered the telecommunications company to stop users of SIM not linked to NIN from making calls
In a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, and Head of Operations, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, the association said it would enforce the government’s order.
Adebayo said, “We can confirm that our members have received a formal directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to bar outgoing calls on subscriber lines that are not in compliance with the NIN-SIM Linkage Policy requirement.
He said that the policy required that all Subscriber Identification Modules must be linked with a NIN.
“Our members are committed to complying with the instructions and call on telecommunication subscribers who have not obtained or linked their NIN to their SIMs, to do so at any of the designated centers,” he said.
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