The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that SIM cards that are not linked to National Identity Numbers (NIN) will be deactivated by the end of February.
The measure was introduced in December 2020 to enhance security by preventing the use of unregistered and unlinked phone numbers for criminal activities.
Despite extensions to the deadline, there are still a significant number of phone lines that have not been linked.
Aminu Maida, the NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, highlighted the challenges posed by pre-registered or illegally registered SIM cards and emphasized that the SIM-NIN connection was implemented to address this issue.
Maida made these remarks during an interactive session with journalists on Tuesday, stating that the commission will now adopt a data-driven decision-making approach and hold telecom service providers accountable for delivering satisfactory services to consumers.
“You are going to see a change in the way we make decisions; we are going to be very data-driven. All our decisions are going to be backed up by data as much as possible. We want to reduce subjectiveness and make the right decisions that will improve the industry.
“We intend to hold our licensees accountable for all services. After all, the consumers pay for the services, and they expect the service to be at a certain level or point, so we will be holding our licensees accountable to ensure they deliver on their obligations to their licenses.
“We need to put smiles back on the faces of consumers. NCC is clear on this: we need to protect the interest of consumers. They remain number one because that is where you extract values from.
“Yet, the interest of licensed operators will also be protected while we put eyes on their activities to see the level of compliance,” he said.
The commission will give priority to three important groups: consumers, the industry, and licensees.
The NCC wants to improve the way consumer complaints are handled by monitoring the customer service systems of licensees and finding out why there are delays in resolving issues.
The decision to deactivate SIM cards without the NIN is part of the government’s plan to improve security and fight against bandits and terrorists.
