Lifestyle

NCC outlines consequence of linking NIN with another person’s SIM

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has cautioned the general public against linking their National Identification Number (NIN) to another person’s Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, irrespective of affiliations with said person.

This warning was issued on Monday by the NCC Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Efosa Idehen, during the third run Telecom Consumer Town Hall on Radio (TCTHR) programme, broadcast live on Human Rights Radio, 101.1 FM in Abuja.

The event was hosted on the platform of ‘NCC Digital Signature on Radio’.

The NCC Digital Signature on Radio is the flagship radio programme of the Commission created to educate the general public on the mandates of the Commission.

According to Idehen, “on no account should a telecom consumer allow another person to register a SIM with another person’s NIN.”

The NCC official further clarified that this was for the protection of the user due to any liabilities or negative consequences arising from the use of another person’s SIM.

“If the person, whose SIM is linked to your line use his own SIM to commit crimes or any form of atrocities, it is easy to be traced to you and then, you will be dealt with because the SIM is linked to your NIN,” he said.

During the radio programme, telecoms consumers were also reminded repeatedly of the October 31, 2021 deadline for NIN-SIM integration.

Politics

We’ve reduced kidnapping, banditry with NIN – Isa Pantami

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The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, says kidnapping and banditry have reduced since his office introduced the policy compelling Nigerians to obtain a National Identification Number, NIN.

Pantami stated this in Abuja on Thursday, while rendering an account of his stewardship since assuming office, in 2019.

He said; “When I was assigned to supervise the sector on 24, August 2019, unregistered, and partial registered sims were being used to perpetrate crime in the country. Nobody knew the total number of unregistered sims.

Within less than 15 days in the office, we have engaged the NCC as a regulator. We have directed them to carry audit exercise to enable them come up with unregistered and partial registered sims. They came with around 9.4 million which is enough to populate another country. It was the first time we didn’t know the total of unregistered sims in the country.

And we went further to direct NCC, to ensure that by 25th September 2019, that is only one month few days in office, I spent there to ensure that by end of September 2021, no sim that is not registered will be on our network. NCC as a regulator implemented that effectively.

From end of September 2019, to 2020, you will discover that even kidnapping and banditry reduced to the barest minimum. It was a time that hardly can you spend one month or more without hearing about kidnapping.

The more you come up with policies to make the system effective the more criminals will come up with another strategy to compromise the policies.”

Entertainment

JAMB registrar explains why UTME students must register with NIN

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has explained why students who wish to sit for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), must register with their National Identity Number (NIN).

Specifically, the Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, on Friday, said the move was for security reasons and to checkmate examination malpractice, noting that the directive was from the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

Speaking during a virtual meeting with owners of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, service providers, and other stakeholders to kick-start the 2021 UTME registration, Oloyede said, “We don’t even require the name of the candidate, we just want the NIN. We will then do the needful to pull the data of the candidate and the process will go on from there.

It is for security reasons. For us at our small level, it helps us to avoid impersonation, but there is a bigger picture. There is insecurity in the country and we know that many of these problems are there because we have identification problems. We can’t identify every citizen, where he is and what he is doing.”

According to Oloyede, candidates must make use of accessible SIM cards that have never been used for UTME registration.

He said discussions were ongoing with the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, to grant a conditioned waiver to an estimated 20 per cent of candidates without SIM cards.

Politics

#NIN : Announcement made by Minister of communication and digital economy, Isa Pantami.

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The National Identification Number (NIN) has been on the lips of a lot of Nigerians for several weeks now, following the declaration by the Federal Government that SIM Cards without an NIN will be blocked.

This led a lot of Nigerians to scramble to get their NIN, as they queued in front of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) offices just to get their National Identification Numbers. Initially, the deadline for the linkage between the NIN and the SIM cards was in early February, but due to a lot of backlash from angry Nigerians, the deadline was moved.

However, Isa Pantami, the Minister Of Communications and Digital Economy, as reported by The Nation Newspapers at the end of an FEC (Federal Executive Council) meeting earlier today, has declared that Nigerians will soon have to link their National Identification Number (NIN) to their bank accounts. He also stated this is because, the Bank Verification Number is not recognised by the law, while the National Identification Number is backed by the law.


He also stated that the deadline for Nigerians to link their National Identification Number to their Bank Accounts will soon be communicated to the general public by the communications ministry. However unlike the case of the NIN and SIM card linkage, a consequence for those that refuse to link their bank accounts has not been announced. This is coming some days after it was announced that the National Identification Number would replace the Bank Verification Number because the BVN is meant for account holders with several banks while the NIN is meant for all Nigerians without minding their status.

Football

#NIN Update: Telcos, minister meet, turnout rise by 40%.

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It was learnt in Abuja on Monday that the ministerial task force on National Identity Number linkage with Subscriber Identification Module held a virtual meeting on Monday to assess the progress as the February 9 deadline draws near.

The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, confirmed that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, held the meeting with operators.

Pantami’s media aide, Uwa Suleiman, also said in a statement that chief executives of telecommunications companies participated in the meeting, as they revealed that compliance for NIN registration had increased by over 40 per cent.

The statement read in part, “CEO (Chief Executive Officer) 9Mobile, Alan Sinfield, in his commendation noted the very active leadership and support of Dr. Pantami, especially in his approval of network operators as enrolment agents for the NIN, which has increased the turnout for compliance by over 40 per cent.”

Entertainment

FG begins NIN enrollment for diplomats

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The Federal Government has commenced the National Identification Number (NIN) enrolment for foreign diplomats in Nigeria.

The Spokesman of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the exercise commenced on January 18.

The statement read: “The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, in his bid to ensure seamless enrolment of all diplomats in the country for the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage and other needs has directed the setting up of an enrolment centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.

“All hands are on deck to ensure the enrolment of all Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database.”

The federal government on Wednesday extended the deadline for NIN enrollment till February 9.

The government had in December last year directed Nigerians to link their NIN to the Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs).

World News

BVN-generated National Identification Number Is Invalid – NIMC.

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The Nigerian government had declared on December 15, 2020, that after December 30, 2020, all SIM cards not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has asked Nigerians to complete their National Identification Number (NIN) registration irrespective of whether they generated the same through bank verification number (BVN).

The Nigerian government had declared on December 15, 2020, that after December 30, 2020, all SIM cards not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.

But on December 21, 2020, it extended the December 30, 2020 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement.

The government gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021.

It also gave six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.

According to the NIMC, as of October, the total number of mobile network connections was 207.58 million, but currently, only 43 million Nigerians have NIN, thus 164 million telephone users are at the risk of being deactivated.

Amidst the rush to get registered, a viral message circulating on social media claims that those who had registered for Bank Verification Number already have NIN. Thus, they do not need to register for NIN.

“Good news: So many Nigerians have NIN and they are unaware. The truth is that everyone that did their BVN when it was introduced in 2014 has NIN automatically assigned to them.

“Just dial *346# with the same number you registered for BVN and retrieve your NIN. Don’t go to NIMC centres to queue, Covid19 is real,” the message read.

But in a tweet on Tuesday, NIMC said the NIN registration must be completed despite NIN generation through BVN.

The agency warned that an incomplete registration will hinder the user’s access to the NIMC mobile application and render the NIN-SIM integration invalid.

It said, “You must complete your NIN registration even if your BVN has generated a NIN,” the tweet read.

“If your NIN was generated due to the BVN record harmonisation with the National Identity Database, you will not have access to the NIMC mobile app and your NIN-SIM integration will be invalid. Visit an enrollment centre to complete NIN registration.”

Politics, World News

Corruption In NIMC , workers Charge N5,000 For National Identity Number Enrolment In Delta.

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Those of us who cannot part with anything are being treated without respect as if we are slaves. But those who paid are treated like kings and queens.

Workers handling the registration of national identity numbers in Delta State have resorted to extorting prospective registrants as they charged between N3,000 and N5,000 for the enrolment form which is supposed to be free.  

Hundreds of applicants who besieged the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) office at Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State were asked to pay to get the forms which are being hoarded by the commission’s staff.

At Effurun, a person who monitored the exercise on Wednesday at the council secretariat observed that the forms were available as expected because the staff hoarded the enrolment forms to sell to desperate applicants.

A registrant said that the extortion was being coordinated by the manager of the NIMC in the area, adding that those who could not afford N3,000 or N5,000 were treated with disdain.

“Officials of the National Identity Management Commission are making a hell of money from this illegal sale of the forms to applicants,” the source said. “Those of us who cannot part with anything are being treated without respect as if we are slaves. But those who paid are treated like kings and queens.

“Do you know that here we are, we saw an officer of the commission receiving N40, 000 from a lady and she was handed a bunch of the enrolment forms. We noticed that the lady came with her entire family members who were tired of waiting on the queue to collect the form. We also saw that the commission’s officials are working hand in hand with some of the illicit business council officials.

“In some cases, some officials of the Uvwie council in connivance with the commission’s officials collect between N9,000 and N10,000 from desperate applicants who are not ready to wait for the enrolment of applicants. In Nigeria, nothing goes for nothing, and it isn’t good. You will be surprised that at the end of the day monies are remitted to some top-ranking officials of the commission,” the applicant said.

NIMC staff at the local government declined to comment on the sharp practices.

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