By Bisola Adeyemo
Federal Government has given new conditions for telecommunication service subscribers to replace lost, stolen, misplaced or damaged SIM cards.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had said subscribers must present their National Identification Numbers for their SIM cards to be replaced.
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The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will also verify the National Identification Numbers (NIN) presented by subscribers before Mobile Network Operators replace such SIM cards.
Service providers are also expected to adhere to other SIM replacement guidelines, according to a statement signed on Friday by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr Ikechukwu Adinde and Head, Corporate Communications, NIMC, Mr Kayode Adegoke.
The statement said the decision was taken by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami after he considered the report by a technical committee “charged with the operationalisation of the process to ensure an expedited linkage of all SIM Registration Records with NIN”.
The committee comprised the NCC, NIMC, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, and Mobile Network Operators.
The statement entitled, SIM Replacement Policy For The Nigerian Telecommunications Industry, read, “Based on recommendations of the Technical Committee, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy has approved a SIM Replacement Policy for subscribers whose SIMs have been lost, stolen, misplaced or damaged subject to the following conditions:
“That the subscriber presents a NIN;
“That an effective verification of the NIN is carried out by NIMC” and “That the relevant Guidelines and Regulations of NCC concerning SIM Replacement are fully adhered to.
“This policy is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce the burden on subscribers and simplify the exercise. It is aimed at enabling telecommunications service users who need to replace their damaged, stolen or misplaced SIMs to re-establish access to telecom services.”
NCC had given time when telecommunications companies will deactivate telephone lines of subscribers who failed to link their phones to their NIN.
Because of this, many people visited NIMC web portal last week for the process of obtaining their NIN which resulted in the crash of the portal.