The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will be extending the National Identification Number (NIN) enrolments till Saturdays.
According to the announcement, this extension will take effect from December 19.
Following directives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to prompt all mobile subscribers to link their SIM details to their NIN, all concerned parties have tried to device means to make the syncing process seamless.
According to NIMC, the Saturday extension will make room for better service to all public members.
Most importantly, this will help to reduce the likelihood of having large clusters at service centers.
The extension will cut across all 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
Registration for Nigerians in the Diaspora
Many Nigerians based outside the country have raised concerns concerning the feasibility of enrolling for their NINs and meeting NCCs deadline.
To address this concern, there’s a dedicated page on the NIMC website. There’s reportedly a list of licensed diaspora enrolment agents on the page.
READ ALSO: Network Providers To Deactivate SIMs Not linked To NIN In Two Weeks
However, when we clicked on the page, we were met with an error message.
Other concerns
Since the NIMC announced the Saturday extension, sour remarks from aggrieved subscribers have reduced.
Many folks are excited that they now stand a better chance of meeting the set deadline for the SIM syncing. However, some other folks have presented other complaints.
One of the major requirements for getting NINs is presenting a valid ID card with corresponding BVN registration details. Individuals with discrepancies between both particulars will have to reconcile them before their NIN can be issued.
Concerned parties have reported that they were requested to pay a disciplinary fee of ₦15,000. Others have also complained that it takes a long period to get this done.
Due to these issues, some mobile subscribers might miss the deadline despite all Network providers’ efforts to hasten the linking process.
Network providers’ attempt to ease the stress
As of yesterday, MTN created a portal for subscribers to link their NINs with their SIM details. Shortly after, several other service providers have come up with shortcodes for the same purpose. Currently, mobile phone subscribers can easily link their NINs to their SIMs using the following codes
- MTN NG – *785#
- Airtel NG – *121*1#
Airtel was quick to develop its USSD code, making it available a few hours before MTN.
GLO, on the other hand, was a little late to the party. However, they responded to the demands for a quicker means to sync NINs about an hour ago.
GLO decided to take another approach. As opposed to using USSD codes which have become a new trend, the network opted for the medieval process of sending text commands.
According to GLO’s announcement on social media, customers can link their NINs by taking this step;
Send “UpdateNIN [space] NIN [space] First name [space] Last name” to 109.
On the other hand, 9mobile is yet to provide its customers with a registration model of its own. However, on Wednesday, they released a code (*346*) with which customers could verify their NIN status.
However, they promise to keep their customers updated with new developments.
and then