Why telcos barred 40m telephone lines’
No fewer than 40 million telephone subscribers have been barred from receiving or making calls.
Yesterday, the The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) explained why they were barred.
According to them, some of the lines might be restored immediately after physical verification by their users at the offices of the service providers and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
NIMC is the Federal Government agency that issues the National Identity Numbers(NIN) to Nigerians while NCC regulates the telecommunications industry.
NCC gave the telcos till February 28, to block all SIMs not linked to NINs. It said in a circular dated December 15, 2023, that the aim was to stem the use of mobile phones by criminal elements.
Before the February 28 deadline, some subscribers who had issues with their lines said they linked their SIMs to their NINs.
But the Telcos and NCC said all subscribers with disparities in information contained in their SIMs and NINs had been programmed for discontinuation of service.
Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Reuben Muoka, said: “People who probably didn’t get a cleared or verified NIN have been barred because the earlier ones they submitted were not good.
“There are still some subscribers whose NINs are yet to be verified by NIMC and those have to also be corrected.”
He explained that such subscribers would have to visit the outlets of their service providers to validate their NINs and resolve other matters.
Muoka, who spoke on national television, restated the NIN-SIM linkage has an objective, which is to make Nigerians have digital identity to tackle security matters.
He said: “The whole essence is actually to achieve the convenience that digital services and products will offer. By the time you have your identity together, you will be able to attend to a number of things.
“Even the banks are now asking their customers to link their NINs to their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs). It is actually to make a holistic package of all your digital services.”
Muoka added: “For now, it requires those physical visits to the stations to get it verified and validated, but in the future, we hope that this will be done virtually.
“Take it that everybody who has not submitted his NIN to the service providers has been barred. Actually, the service providers are starting to bar people many days before the deadline.”
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said those complaining should blame themselves for the glitches.
He said: “Those complaining of previously linking their SIMs with their NINs and getting barred had issues with information supplied in their primary identity and secondary identity.
“If for instance, a subscriber had given his first name as last name in his primary data (SIM registration) and had gone ahead to make his last name as first name in secondary data (NIN), NIMC which would verify the data will ask questions as to why the disparity existed.
“Similarly, if a subscriber had identified himself as a driver while registering for a SIM card and identified himself as an architect while registering for NIN, of course, you expect NIMC to ask questions.”