Nigeria

New SIM registration: Telecom workers reject FG’s 2-week deadline

Monday, December 21, 2020 at 11:01 AM by Kess Ewubare

- Reactions have continued to trail the two-week deadline given by the FG for the linking of SIM cards to NIN

- Workers in the Nigerian telecom industry have disclosed why the directive may fail

- The group made recommendations to the government on how to proceed on the issue

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Nigerian workers in the communications industry have opposed the directive given by the federal government to telecommunications operators mandating them to block SIM cards not linked with the National Identification Numbers (NIN) in two weeks.

The workers under the union of Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN), said the time given for the exercise was too short.

New SIM registration: Telecom workers reject FG’s 2-week deadline — Photo: Stock images of SIM cards
Source: Getty Images

According to Vanguard, the union in a statement said the December 15, 2020 deadline stipulated by the federal government for registration is impossible to meet.

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It said:

“We implore the government to withdraw the directive because it was not well-thought-out and is highly unachievable.

"To register about 170 million Nigerians that are yet to be registered within two weeks is a tall order that can never be met with the present encumbrances in the present approach of registering the people."

This Day reported that PTECSSAN argued that it would be insensitive for the federal government to punish Nigerians for being unable to link their SIM cards with the NIN.

The workers asked the government to address the problems that hindered Nigerians from obtaining their NIN instead of issuing deadlines and threats.

The union warned that the directive could expose millions of Nigerians to the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.

Meanwhile, following the two weeks directives given by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the telecommunications operators in the country to block all SIM cards that are not registered with the National Identity Numbers (NIN), succour has come the way of Nigerian subscribers.