The federal government has extended the ongoing national identification number (NIN) and subscriber identity module (SIM) integration exercise till June 30.

Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, gave the directive according to a statement jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, director of public affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Kayode Adegoke, head of corporate communications at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

According to the statement, the extension was as a result of the virtual meeting chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami and attended by the Chairman of NCC, Prof Adeolu Akande.

Others are the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta and the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Azeez.

The minister said the postponement of the deadline was also based on the request by stakeholders for an extension until June 30 in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register.

“Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process.

”For example, almost 54 Million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 Million mobile numbers, since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to three to four phone lines,” Pantami said.

The government said the much awaited Android enrolment system is now ready for deployment and this has the potential to significantly accelerate the speed and ease of enrolment.

“Furthermore, the telecom providers and other enrolment agents have also opened several centres across the country to make it easier for eligible citizens and residents to obtain and link their NINs.

“It is noteworthy that Sections 27 and 29 of the National Identity Management Commission Act 2007 provides for the mandatory use of National Identity Number for accessing several government services.

“This is similar to the use of Social Security Number and National Insurance Number for accessing services in the United States of America and the United Kingdom respectively,” the federal government said.

Pantami appreciated Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the federal government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.

He reiterated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.