House of Representatives has asked the National Communications Commission (NCC) to extend its December 31 deadline issued to sim card owners to link their National Identification Numbers (NIN) to their network providers or risk being blocked.
The commission on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to all telecommunications operators in the country to block all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) without NIN.
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It also ordered the network operators to ask all their subscribers to provide valid NIN to update their records and suspend SIM registration.
According to NCC, the meeting resolved that the submission of NIN by subscribers would take place between December 16 and 30, 2020.
However, house of reps’ call for suspension followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu on Wednesday during plenary and outrage that greeted the NCC’s directive.
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According to the lawmaker, two weeks is too short for 200million Nigerians to conclude the process.
Elumelu in his motion explained that the House agrees with the policy of linking SIM cards to NIN, he explained that the policy is consistent with the position of the House.
The House lauded the intention of the NCC, for security reasons but wants the process to be extended to 10 weeks, considering the difficulty that would be experienced by Nigerians in acquiring NIN.
He disclosed that the House even made recommendations to the NCC recently regarding the policy.
The lawmaker stated;
As laudable as the policy is, Nigerians have not been properly sensitized. In this yuletide season, it could lead to stampede and exploitation.
Opposing the amendment to extend the registration by 8weeks, Uzoma Abonta, lawmaker representing Ukwa East/ West Federal Constituency, Abia State, stated that 1year would be appropriate for the process.
However, the amendment for a one-year extension was rejected by the House.
