The Federal government has postponed the deadline earlier given to block the SIM cards of Nigerians and legal residents who fail to link their National Identification Number (NIN).
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) made this known in a public notice published on Tuesday via its official Twitter handle.
The government had on December 15, 2020 declared that all SIMs that are not registered with valid NIN on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked after December 30, 2020.
However, following public outcry against the short notice, it later extended the deadline, giving 3 weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021, and a 6-week extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.
“All Nigerians and legal residents are advised to enroll for their National Identification Number (NIN) and link them before February 9, 2021,” the notice by NIMC reads.
By the notice, the government will not block SIM cards of subscribers with NIN until February 9, along with subscribers without NIN.