No NIN, no passports, driving licence, says NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission has said that Nigerian citizens without national identification number (NIN) will be denied the opportunity of acquiring driving licences and international passports.

It asked telecoms consumers to link their NIN with their subscriber identity modules (SIMs) before the expiration of the deadline on October 31, 2021.

The NCC said this on Wednesday at its Digital Signature radio programme, which transmitted the second episode of Telecoms Consumer Town Hall to discuss the benefits of NIN-SIM integration.

Speaking during the programme, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Ikechukwu Adinde, said the October 31 deadline for NIN-SIM linkage was sacrosanct.

He advised Nigerians to make use of the extension of the NIN-SIM integration exercise to October 31, 2021, to enrol with NIMC, get their NINs and link them to their SIMs.

“Soon, people without NIN will be denied necessary services that play vital roles in their lives, including the acquisition of driving licence, passport,” he said.

On the benefits of the NIN-SIM integration, Adinde said the exercise will significantly enhance national security as NIN is the primary identity for Nigerians.

He emphasised that the NIN-SIM database will enhance citizens’ access to government services, in line with the federal government’s commitment to ensure that Nigeria deploys technology to improve service delivery.

The NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Efosa Idehen, said, “Those SIMs without unique identification could be used to commit crimes that remain untraceable.”

Funmi Opesanwo, regional director of the National Identity Management Commission in Lagos, said that the submission of NIN to a mobile network provider helped to provide a means of verifying an individual’s identity and safeguarding both identity and mobile line.