FG Approves Establishment Of SIM Swap Centres By MNOs, Extends Enrolment Licence Tenure

The Federal Government has approved the establishment of subscriber Identification Module,SIM, Swapping centres and extend the tenure of licences to the Mobile Network operators, MNOs, for the registration of the National Identity Numbers, NIN.

A statement jointly signed by Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde and  Head, Corporate Communications,  Nigeria Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Kayode Adegoke, said the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration, chaired by Minister of  Communications and digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami held its 4th Review Meeting on Friday, February 26, 2021 and came up with some resolutions, which include:

i. Approval was given to MNOs for the establishment of dedicated SIM Swap Centres across the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria;

ii. 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;

iii. 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

iv. 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).

Also 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  of which is to bring SIM Swap Centres closer to Nigerians regardless of their location.

The Minister tasked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), working with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and MNOs, to come up with a framework for the establishment of SIM Swap/Replacement Centres in each of the 774 LGAs in the country, beginning with critical and feasible locations.

Key stakeholders joined the Minister at the meeting included the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners for Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo.