Telecommunications giants MTN Nigeria has informed subscribers that any sim without the National Identity Numbers (NINs) will be barred from using the network on or before 28 February, 2024.
MTN, in a statement issued by Uto Ukpanah, Company Secretary, said the move is part of an industry-wide directive that requires phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their NINs to be barred on or before 28 February
MTN informed investors that, it has “received a formal directive from the NCC to implement full network barring on all phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their national identity numbers (NINs) and those whose NINs are unverified.”
MTN said it was further engaging the affected subscribers through all its channels to encourage them to submit their NINs for verification.
“As part of these efforts, we are enhancing the capacity of our various service outlets to make the process smoother and more efficient,” the Nigerian operation informed investors.
“We are committed to ensuring that our subscribers comply with the NCC directive and will continue to work with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to accelerate the NIN verification process.
“We appreciate the effort being made by the Federal Government to implement a reliable and sustainable National Identity Management system, which is a crucial enabler for national and economic development.
“Therefore, as a law-abiding corporate citizen and in line with our operating licence requirements, we are
committed to complying with the industry-wide directive from the NCC and will provide further updates to investors on progress and potential impact with the release of FY 2023 results.
“We urge all our subscribers who have not yet linked their NIN to their lines to take immediate action by visiting the nearest MTN outlet or using any of our digital channels before the deadlines. Those without a NIN should visit any of the NIMC’s enrollment centers nationwide to enrol for NIN.”
Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market, accounting for more than 40% of its revenue, with almost 78 million subscribers. The Nigeria Communications Commission launched a crackdown on cellphone companies that have not linked their subscribers to ID numbers in 2020.
