Business

Inadequate database threatens SIM-NIN registration, NIMC admits deficit

Published

3 years ago

May 13, 2022

Telecommunication consumers are lamenting the decision of the Federal Government to implement the National Identification Number-Subscriber Identity Module policy after the Nigeria Identity Management Commission disclosed that its infrastructure can accommodate only 100 million Nigerians.

The consumers under the aegis of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers were reacting to comments by the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Aliyu Aziz.

According to the DG, the commission’s database is at 80 per cent of its capacity with over 80 million unique NINs issued.

He said this during an interview on the Frontiers Show on the Nigerian Television Authority over the weekend.

He added that the commission presently has the capacity to issue about three million NINs monthly but hopes to increase its capacity soon.

Aziz said, “We built it (the database) to cater for a 100 million. Right now, we are at eighty million. Also, we have the government’s approval to upgrade it. So, before we reach there, we must have upgraded to about 250 million.

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“So, we don’t have issues with that. Most of the time, our major challenges are either power or the bandwidth of the connectivity that we have but not the infrastructure.”

According to him, the goal of the commission is to enroll every Nigerian, but it is lacking funding to implement upgrades.

He said that the NIMC got approval to upgrade its capacity in July 2021 but has yet to receive funding to the effect.

He added, “We are trying to upgrade the system. We have gotten the government’s approval since July last year. We are following up to get the funding. Funding is a challenge, but I don’t want to call it a challenge because it is a challenge for everyone.”

Aziz hinted that Nigerians might be compelled to pay for the enrolment process in the future.

According to President, NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, the decision of the Federal Government to implement the SIM-NIN policy despite NIMC’s lack of capacity is unjustifiable.

On April 4, 2022, the Federal Government asked telecom companies to bar over 72.77 million active telecom subscribers from the ability to make calls as a result of its SIM-NIN policy.

The government ordered that lines that had not linked their SIMS to their NINs must be barred from making calls. Ogunbanjo said, “We have always doubted NIMC’s capacity. This is a problem and that is what we have been saying that the capacity of the NIMC is obviously doubtful. They do not have the capacity to get all the details, or data of everyone.

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“This brings us to the fact that implementation of the policy should be extended. The NIMC’s capacity is inadequate. Fortunately, the NIMC has now come to say look, their capacity is inadequate so by extension we are saying, the supervising minister should hear this. There is no need to punish people when the capacity is only 100 million.

“This means even if every eligible Nigerian attempts to register, NIMC cannot accommodate them. NIMC cannot host that. The SIM-NIN policy implementation was done in a hurry.”

According to him, NIMC’s admission is an indictment on the government, not subscribers.

He added, “The Commission doesn’t even have the capacity for all the data of eligible Nigerians. The supervising minister has to know that they need to extend the deadline. The capacity is doubtful and inadequate.

“We will continue to push for a deadline extension and pressure the relevant authorities to ensure that NIMC’s capacity is upgraded. This is why we have been lamenting for a while. So NIMC has a capacity for only 100 million Nigerians? Why then is the minister in a hurry to implement the SIM-NIN policy? They have to issue a new directive. If NIMC doesn’t have the capacity for 200 million, then there is no need to implement the directive. They have been punishing Nigerians for nothing.”

Recently, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, said NIMC had challenges with infrastructure, salaries, welfare, and others.

The PUNCH reported that at least a total of N414.06m has been approved for the enrolment and verification process in the 2022 approved budget.

Related Topics:database deficit NIMC SIM-NIN registration

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Aviation

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

Published

18 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

Disaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight

An Abuja-Lagos flight was on Thursday aborted following a bird strike on the airplane belonging to Air Peace, forcing the authorities to ground the aircraft.

The bird strike experienced in the early hours reportedly prompted a ramp return to ensure the safety of passengers onboard.

All the passengers quickly disembarked and were calmed down before they were moved into another plane for the one-hour journey.

A bird strike is a collision between a bird and an aircraft, or other airborne animal, while the aircraft is in flight, taking off, or landing. And it can be a significant threat to aircraft safety.

Air Peace in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ejike Ndiulo, said the bird strike occurred at 6:30am, and all passengers disembarked normally.

The statement read, “We wish to inform our esteemed passengers that our Abuja- Lagos 06:30 flight experienced a bird strike before take-off, prompting a ramp return as a safety measure. All passengers disembarked normally.

“We have deployed a replacement aircraft for the affected flight in order to minimize disruptions, thus ensuring that passengers continue their journeys promptly.

“We appeal for the understanding of our valued passengers impacted by this development, as well as those on other flights that may experience delays.

“At Air Peace, we are committed to providing safe, comfortable, and reliable air travel for all our passengers.”

Business

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Published

18 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and its partners have revved up crude oil and gas production to 1.8million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4standard cubic feet per day (scfd).

The company which announced this at a press briefing said the feat was achieved in compliance with the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, congratulated the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we
have from the President, the Honourable Minister, and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Giving details of the efforts of the Production War Room, the Chief War Room Coordinator and Senior Business Adviser to the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lawal Musa, disclosed that the feat was achieved through the collaborative efforts of Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners, the Office of the National Security Adviser, as well as government and private security agencies.

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He said the interventions that led to the recovery of production cut across every segment of the production chain with security agencies closely monitoring the pipelines.
He stressed that when the Production War Room team was inaugurated on 25th June 2024, production was at 1.430mbpd, but the team swung into action, culminating into sustaining the production recovery to 1.7mbpd in August and hitting the current 1.808mbpd in November.
“We are confident that with this same momentum and with the active collaboration of all stakeholders, especially on the security front, we can see the possibility of getting to 2mbpd by the end of the year,” he stated.
Also speaking on the development, Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board of Directors, Chief Pius Akinyelure, who also congratulated the team, said he was happy to be part of the production recovery process, adding: “today, I will leave this place with my heart full of joy”.

He charged the Company’s Management to come up with a cashflow projection based on the new production figures to facilitate planning, stressing that he was looking forward to further production increase to 3mbpd.

On his part, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team and pledged the Federal Government’s support for the company to do more.

NNPC achieves 1.8mbpd crude oil production

Business

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

Published

18 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

FG gets fresh $134m loan from AfDB for agric projects

The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country.

This is contained in a statement issued by Anthonia Eremah, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, on Thursday, in Abuja.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, made his know at the unveiling of the 2024/2025 National Dry Season Farming in Calabar, Cross River State capital.

Kyari explained that with the re-introduction of the national dry season farming to boost year-round agricultural production, the loan would be handy and guarantee national food security in the country.

The minister said the initiative is under the National Agricultural Growth Support Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP) Project.

He said the federal government had declared an emergency on food production to enable all Nigerians to get easy access to quality and nutritional food at affordable rates.

Kyari also said government wants to use the agricultural sector for national economic revival through increase in production of some staple food crops such as wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybean, and cassava during both dry and wet season farming.

He added that 107,429 wheat farmers were supported under phase 1 of the 2023/2024 dry season, and 43,997 rice farmers under the second phase of the 2023/2024 dry season.

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The minister said recently, government supported 192,095 rice, maize, sorghum/millet, soyabean and cassava farmers under the 2024 wet season across the 37 States including the FCT.

He said Cross River was leading 16 other states in wheat production, adding that over 3000 wheat farmers have been listed to benefit from the support to grow the grain.

Kyari noted the Cross River government’s commitment to wheat production.

He said it informed why the federal government is partnering with the state to kick start the maiden wheat production and enlisting them among states commencing the current 2024/2025 dry season farming.

“The 2024/2025 dry season farming, the project is targeted to support 250,000 wheat farmers across the wheat-producing states with subsidised agricultural inputs.

“This is to cultivate about 250,000 hectares with an expected output of about 750,000 metric tonnes of wheat to be added to the food reserve to reduce dependence on importation of the product and also increase domestic consumption.

“Equally the programme will provide support to 150,000 rice farmers under the second phase to cover all the 37 states, including FCT, with an expected output of about 450,000 metric tonnes,” he said.