Tag: Technology

NIN Mandatory for Bank Account Opening, Voter Registration – Pantami
Communication, Information Technology, Interview, News, Nigeria, Science

NIN Mandatory for Bank Account Opening, Voter Registration – Pantami

Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, says the national identification number (NIN) is compulsory for transactions such as bank account opening, payment of taxes and voter registration. Speaking in Abuja on Thursday, he said the government is determined to ensure that all citizens have NIN. Pantami quoted section 27 of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) act as stating that benefitting from government services as a citizen without NIN is an offence punishable by imprisonment. “This is most important in the area of NIN, which is a mandatory number, based on the NIMC order of 2007 that has actively been neglected for years, ” he said. “It is key to our national planning, budget, security, social development and many more. But it was neglected despite...
NIN Compulsory for Bank Accounts, Voter Registration – FG
Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

NIN Compulsory for Bank Accounts, Voter Registration – FG

The Federal Government on Thursday said that the National Identity Number, NIN, is compulsory for the opening of bank accounts, payment of taxes, and voter registration. This was disclosed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami in Abuja while hosting the newly elected National Executive Council of the Association Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria. It came at a time when operators have urged the Federal Government to align with the development of a strategic plan to bridge the over N15tn infrastructure funding gap for the telecoms/information communication and technology industry. Pantami in his speech assured the guests that the government was determined to ensure that all Nigerians had their various NINs. He said, “This is most important in th...
Plans Underway to Replace BVN with NIN – FG
Information Technology, News, Nigeria

Plans Underway to Replace BVN with NIN – FG

Dr Isa Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy has said the Federal Government plans to phaseout Bank Verification Numbers, NIN, and replace it with National Identity Numbers. Pantami disclosed this while interacting with reporters after taking a tour and inspecting the ongoing NIN enrolment exercise at NIMC and other designated centres in Abuja. The minister stated that he had presented it to the National Economic Sustainability Committee and drew the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor on the need to replace BVN with NIN. He said the BVN is a regulator’s policy, while NIN is a law. He said, “The strength of the law wherever you go is not the same with a policy of one institution.’’ According to the minister, the BVN was only applicable t...
MTN Expands NIN Enrolment Capabilities
Communication, Information Technology, Interview, Nigeria

MTN Expands NIN Enrolment Capabilities

MTN Nigeria has disclosed that it is exponentially increasing capacity to provide National Identity Number enrolment services across its customer interaction touch points pan-Nigeria, rural locations inclusive. The telco in a statement issued on Thursday said it had deployed an onsite appointment booking system designed to limit indoor crowding, alongside standard COVID-19 safety protocols at its service centres, adding that it planned to launch an online version shortly. The company said this was to further support the Federal Government and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy’s efforts to drive the NIN registration. According to MTN, a reliable and sustainable national identity management system would deliver multiple benefits to the telecoms industry and the coun...
99% of Citizens Data Insured, Protected Says FG
Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

99% of Citizens Data Insured, Protected Says FG

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that at least 99 per cent of citizens data was protected and insured, urging Nigerians not to worry about the privacy of their data. The assurance was given by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, during the virtual National Privacy Week conference organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, as part of programmes to mark the World Privacy Day. Suspected hackers interrupted the data privacy forum, as disruptive voices were heard for some minutes during the event, Punch reports. The disruptions caused the moderator to keep apologising for the hitches, while some participants expressed surprise at the development, which was, however, addressed by the organisers. Addressing the ...
Telcos Licensed to Provide NIN – NIMC
Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

Telcos Licensed to Provide NIN – NIMC

The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, has licensed telecommunication companies to register people seeking to obtain National Identity Numbers so as to decongest the crowds at the offices of NIMC across the country. Director-General of NIMC, Aliyu Aziz who disclosed this said some other private and public organisations had also been given operational license by the commission to provide NINs to make the enrolment seamless. This follows reports on Tuesday that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, had set up a committee to address the demands of NIMC workers. NIMC workers had declared strike on January 7, 2021 in protest against poor welfare issues for employees of the commission, but their strike was suspended after the intervention of the mi...
FG Grants Plateau Govt NIN registration Licence 
Corruption, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

FG Grants Plateau Govt NIN registration Licence 

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong has said he has secured a registration licence for the State Government to commence the enrollment of National Identity Number, NIN, for residents of the state to alleviate the suffering occasioned by few enrolment centres. This was contained in a statement on Sunday by the governor’s director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, who said the licence granted by the Federal Government is for one year and it is subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance during the period. He said the approval which was conveyed to the Governor by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy through the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Aliyu Aziz, indicates that the Plateau State Government can now participate in ...
21 Million Subscribers Yet to Obtain NIN – Telcos
Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

21 Million Subscribers Yet to Obtain NIN – Telcos

Telecommunications operators on Wednesday said at least 143 million Subscriber Identification Modules, SIM, are currently identifiable to the National Identity Management Commission for registration with their respective National Identity Numbers. Telecommunication operators also said that the number of subscribers without NINs was about 21 million, as the deadline for the registration of SIMs with valid NINs draws near. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, while speaking on behalf of the mobile operators said that the number of NINs submitted by the telecoms sector to NIMC was for about 143 million SIMs. The Nigerian Communications Commission had announced on Tuesday that so far a total of 47.8 million NINs had been collected ...
FG Extends Deadline for NIN
Breaking News, Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

FG Extends Deadline for NIN

The Federal Government has extended the deadline for millions of Nigerians unable to link their National Identity numbers (NINs) with Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to February 9. The initial deadline expired on January 19. The mobile network operators (MNOs) said the Federal Government granted a further extension of the deadline to February 9 to allow subscribers yet to sync their SIMs with their NINs to do so. They also promised to start enrolling citizens to National Identity Database (NIDB) of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ease the frustration, desperation and extortion of people by desiring to get enrolled and get their NINs by unscrupulous elements. The MNOs, acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators ...
43 Million NINs Awaiting NIMC Verification
Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

43 Million NINs Awaiting NIMC Verification

Telecommunication companies in Nigeria have forwarded at least 43 million National Identity Numbers, NINs, to the National Identity Management Commission for verification in order to have them linked with their respective Subscriber Identification Modules, SIMs. Despite the duration of time given for telephone subscribers with NINs to link it with their SIMs elapsing today (January 19, 2021), service providers have said that SIMs with unlinked submitted NINs would not be blocked. Reports say bout 45 million NINs have been provided by the NIMC, as it was able to register about two million people in the last one month after the Federal Government ordered citizens to register their SIMs with valid NINs, Punch reports. African News Today had on December 15, 2020, that the Federal Gove...