Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has completed the implementation of federal government’s policy to link all phone numbers in the country to a national identification number (NIN).
Gatekeepers News reports that executive vice-chairman of NCC, Aminu Maida revealed this on Thursday at 2024 annual corporate governance conference held in Lagos.
Maida spoke on the significance of the concluded NIN-SIM linkage initiative and acknowledged the challenges faced by Nigerians during the process.
He said, “We have recently concluded the implementation of the federal government’s 2020 policy of linking every phone number to a NIN.”
“Though it was a bit painful for Nigerians, I think we also need to appreciate what that does for us.”
“Today, there is no phone number that we cannot associate with a verified NIN. Not just a number, but a number that has been verified.”
The EVC noted that though some may question the authenticity of the linked identities, the initiative is an important starting point for accountability.
He added, “If this phone number is involved in fraud or any crime, I can now authoritatively say, based on the NIN linked to it, this is the person who is using that phone number.”
