The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has appealed to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for extension of the NIN-SIM linkage deadline from Sept. 14 to Sept. 30.
The National President, NATCOMS, Mr Deolu Ogunbanjo, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that it desired an extension due to the challenges of the National Identity Management Commission’s (NIMC) portal.
NAN reports that the NCC had set a deadline of Sept. 14, 2024, for all mobile users to link their SIMs to their National Identification Number (NIN).
The NCC emphasised the importance of the NIN-SIM linkage for improving digital security and reducing fraud and cybercrime.
Ogunbanjo said it needed the two-week extension for the NIMC to increase the capacity of its portal, adding that telecoms operators at the customer centres usually struggled to upload on the NIMC portal.
He said that difficulty to upload on the NIMC portal had frustrated the process and caused delay.
“As I visited the customer centres of Airtel and MTN, I witnessed firsthand the struggles they faced in uploading data to NIMC portal.
“The congestion was palpable, and the slow pace of uploads was frustrating.
“It was clear that the NIMC portal lacked the capacity to handle the surge in uploads, causing undue stress for telecom operators and their subscribers.
“I am appealing to the NCC to grant an extension of the deadline to Sept. 30, to allow more time for NIMC to expand its portal capacity,” he said.
Ogunbanjo added that this would alleviate the current difficulties, and ensure a smoother experience for all stakeholders.
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