The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has confirmed that over 180 million telephone lines have been linked with the National Identity Numbers (NIN).
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this during the Public Inquiry on three Regulatory Instruments on the Rule Making Process held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
Danbatta said the latest number of telephones linked to the NIN was facilitated by the capturing of over 64 million Nigerians by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in the National Identity Numbers (NIN) database.
He said: “Available statistics indicate that the telecommunications industry has bounced back with broadband penetration peaking at 41 percent while active telephone subscribers have increased by over one million.
The EVC explained that in view of the resolve of the government’s determination to tackle the rising rate of insecurity through citizens’ identity management nationwide, it had become imperative to ensure that the provisions of the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations and SIM Replacement Guidelines align with the national identification policy for SIM card registration and related activities.
Danbatta had projected that the number of enrolments will increase significantly with the opening of over 1,500 NIN enrolment outlets by Mobile Number Operators (MNOs).
As part of the commission’s efforts to ensure that more subscribers link their SIMs with NIN, it has reviewed its guidelines to include the use of NIN by telecom operators for SIM card registration and SIM replacement.
In addition, the MNOs may also retain the biometrics of subscribers.
However, the Commission reserves the right to revoke this provision if there is a breach of confidentiality and integrity of the biometric data or other grounds it may determine from time to time.
Under the existing regulations, licensees are not allowed to retain biometrics. This is even as the activation window within which a subscriber acquires and activates a SIM card has been extended from one month to 60 months.
