ICT Expert Advocates Continuous NIN-SIM Linkage

A Port Harcourt based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) expert, Barr Okpara Chukwu, has called on the Federal Government to make the National Identification Number (NIN) linkage to SIM cards a continuous process in order to end panic among subscribers.
Chukwu who spoke with newsmen in Port Harcourt, yesterday, said the issue of deadline for NIN-SIM linkage should be jettisoned by the Federal Government.
He expressed fear that most subscribers may end up loosing their SIM cards if the tag of deadline was not removed.
According to him, exercises of this nature ought to be a continuous one to avoid unnecessary mistakes.
The ICT expert warned that the deadline notice was enough to jeopardize the process, as SIM users may be forced to indulge in some sharp practices in an attempt to beat the deadline. 
“My point is that the Federal Government must remove deadline for NIN-SIM linkage. For instance, BVN linkage was achieved stress free when the Federal Government removed deadline. It must be open”, he said.
He also advised the government to review the technicalities involved in the process so as to make the exercise a stress free one for subscribers. 
“Most subscribers are far from service centres, thereby making the exercise difficult. If all the technicalities in the process are reduced, I think many of them will do it at their convenience”, he said.
Chukwu noted with dismay that Nigerian subscribers did not have full package of their subscription as it was done worldwide.
“It is only in Nigeria where subscribers get less value for their subscription. Something must be done by the drivers of the system to protect subscribers’ interest” , he said.
Our correspondent who went round some NIN centres in Port Harcourt, yesterday reports that many of the centres were still populated by subscribers who wanted to beat today’s deadline for NIN-SIM linkage after about five times extension of the deadline by the Federal Government. 
As at press time, it was leard that the Federal Government has extended the exercise to July 26, 2021

By: King Onunwor