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Tag: NIN

  • NCC Gives New Directive on NIN for SIM Registration by Foreigners 

    NCC Gives New Directive on NIN for SIM Registration by Foreigners 

     

    The Nigerian Communications Commission has said foreigners not staying in Nigeria for up to two years do not need a National Identification number to register SIM cards.

     

    The regulatory body said this in its Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration.

     

    A portion of the document said, “Foreigners validly transiting through Nigeria or are employed in or reside in Nigeria for less than 24 months are exempted from the mandatory use of NIN requirement.

     

    “Persons in this category need to provide justification that they will be residing in Nigeria for less than two years.”

     

    However, NIN is compulsory for foreigners who have legal residency, or those who have lived in Nigeria for two years and above.

     

    “NIN is mandatory for foreigners with legal residency status or those living in Nigeria for two years and above. For those who do not already have a NIN, operators will capture the resident for NIN as part of the enrolment process, upon presentation of resident permit.

     

    “Foreigners with visitor’s visas (with visa less than two years) do not require a NIN. Operators will capture the following on their records; – International passport bio-data page and visa page.

     

    “Foreigners with diplomatic visas (including family diplomatic visas) will also require a NIN for their personal telephone lines if they are staying in Nigeria for two or more years.

     

     “Those staying less than two years will require the following for registration of their personal telephone lines: international passport bio-data page and letter from embassy indicating that their stay is for less than two years.

     

    “For embassies and diplomatic missions: The data page containing the passport number of the diplomatic passport of the Head of Mission/Embassy along with a Letter of Request signed by the ambassador or its equivalent for registration of the official telephone lines of the embassy /mission in Nigeria shall be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for verification and confirmation and registration of the SIMs;  SIM cards of the diplomatic missions are to be linked with a Corporate Diplomatic Identification Number, which will be unique to each diplomatic mission.

     

    “Each mission will also be responsible for managing the lines and allocating them internally.”

     

    It added that the Head of Mission would serve as the Telecom Master or Point of Contact for the Mission.

  • Nigerians Without NIN Risk Going To Jail — Pantami

    Nigerians Without NIN Risk Going To Jail — Pantami

     

    The minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, says Nigerians involved in business transactions without a national identification number (NIN) risk jail term or fine.

     

    He said this while delivering an address at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.

     

    Pantami warned that those yet to obtain their NIN are violating a section of the NIMC Act of 2007, noting that 51 million Nigerians have registered for their national identification number (NIN).

     

    He referenced section 27 of act which establishes NIN as a prerequisite for several registrations and transactions in Nigeria.

     

    According to him, while obtaining a SIM card maybe optional, NIN is mandatory as it is a criminal offense in Nigeria to carry out business activities without it.

     

    “Based on the requirement by law each and every citizen and legal resident must obtain his/her national identification number, which is being coordinated by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). It’s a requirement by law but many citizens ignore it,” he said.

     

    “For you to open a bank account without national identity number is an offence. For you to pay tax is an offence, for you to collect pension is an offence, for you to enjoy any government service, without having national identity number is an offence.

     

    “No country will be successful in education, health, budget planning or national planning without database of its citizens in place.

     

    “The NIMC Act clause 27 states that you need the NIN for opening bank account, for insurance, land transactions, voters registration, drivers licenses. So, it is an offense to transact any business activity without first having your NIN.

     

    “Section 29 says if you do any of these in 27, without obtain National Identity Number you have committed a crime that will lead to fines or imprisonment, or both of them.”

     

    WHAT DOES THE NIMC ACT SAYS?

     

    The NIMC Act of 2007 acknowledges the importance of NIN in engaging in business transactions.

     

    Section 27 of the act provides for the mandatory use of NIN.

     

    It states that NIN is needed for registration and issuance of passport, opening of bak accounts, purchase of insurance policies, transfer and registration of land, voter’s registration, tax payment, among others.

     

    It is also required for “any other transaction which the Commission may so prescribe and list in the Federal Government Gazette”.

     

    “Any authority or organisation to which a person applies to carry out any transaction listed under subsection (I) of this section shall request such person to produce his Multipurpose Identity Card or National Identification Number,” the act reads.

     

    For defaulters, section 29 of the same act, notes that there is a penalty for not owning a NIN before engaging in transactions or registrations.

     

    The section states that an individual who violates section 27 will get a jail sentence of at least six months or a minimum of N50,000 fine.

     

    “Any person who carries out or permits the carrying out of any transaction specified in section 27 of this Act without a National Identification Number commits an offence and shall,” it reads.

     

    “Where the offence is committed by a registered individual, be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N50,000.00 or imprisonment for a term not less than 6 months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

     

    “Where the offence is committed by a body corporate, be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N1,000,000.00 and in addition, the Chief Executive or the line manager or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any other person purporting to act in any such capacity shall be deemed guilty of that offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N1,000,000.00 each.”

     

  • FG Planning To Replace BVN With NIN – Minister

    FG Planning To Replace BVN With NIN – Minister

    The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, has said the Federal Government plans to replace Bank Verification Numbers with the National Identity Numbers.

     

    The minister said this while briefing newsmen after a facility tour and inspection of the ongoing NIN enrolment exercise at NIMC and other designated centres in Abuja.

     

    He said he had made a presentation 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.

     

    According to him, 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.’’

     

    The minister noted that BVN was only applicable to those who had a bank accounts while NIN was for every citizen and legal resident in the country.

     

    “BVN is our secondary database, while NIN and the database is the primary one in the country that each and every institution should make reference to NIMC,” he said.

     

    Pantami boasted that Nigeria was at the forefront in Africa in regard to data protection regulations, claiming that the level of security in the entire database was 99.9 per cent.

     

    He said, “That is why we came up with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation that we always enforce and this is applicable to the database at our disposal.

     

    “We take care of it and make sure that security is excellent and we don’t allow anybody to compromise the content because it is a trust from our citizens given to us.’’

     

    Giving reasons the government engaged private agents for the NIN enrolment, the minister said the move was in line with the global standard.

     

    He emphasised the need for NIMC to focus on regulatory work and set the standards for biometrics registration, measuring of heights, standard for data to be collected and general verification.

     

    In another development, Pantami has called on the organised private sector to enhance collaboration with government, adding that the economy of Nigeria is dependent on how it faired.

     

    Pantami said this in his address at National Directorate of Employment/Federal Government’s Special Public works programme commissioning where 11,000 unemployed youth in Gombe State were engaged with work tools.

     

    He said an enabling environment was key to harvesting the gains associated with private sector, stressing that the current dispensation had provided friendly atmosphere for businesses to thrive.

     

    The minister said, “The economy of Nigeria relies more on the private sector than the public sector.

     

    “If you look at our GDP collectively, it is approximately around $450bn which is the highest in Africa. If you compute, you will discover that the entire stage of government particularly the federal level is approximately around 8.5 per cent, while that of the private sector is more than 91.5 per cent. Government cannot do without collaborating with the private sector.

     

    “What government must do is to provide enabling environment for the private sector to thrive and this is what we have been doing every day to come up with policies for the private sector to thrive.

     

    “This is what brought about tax holiday, visa on arrival in Nigeria, online registration of companies by CAC.”

     

    While hailing the public works initiative, the minister said it would reignite social service.

  • NIMC Gives MTN, Airtel, Others Licence To Provide NIN

    NIMC Gives MTN, Airtel, Others Licence To Provide NIN

    Telecommunications companies have been licensed to register people who do not have National Identity Numbers so as to reduce the large crowds at the offices of the National Identity Management Commission, the NIMC has said.

     

    Director-General, NIMC, Aliyu Aziz, said some other private and public organisations had also been licensed by the commission to provide NINs in order to address the crowds at commission’s offices.

     

    This came as workers of the commission said on Tuesday that the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, had constituted a committee to address the demands of NIMC employees.

     

    NIMC workers had downed tools on January 7, 2021 in protest against the poor welfare issues at the commission, but their strike was suspended after the intervention of the minister.

     

    Responding to an enquiry as regards measures taken by NIMC with respect to complains by citizens and the crowds at the commission’s offices, Aziz said mobile network operators had been empowered to also give the identity numbers.

     

    “We have licensed private and public sector organisations including telcos (telecommunications companies) so as to create more centres,” he stated in a WhatsApp message to our correspondent.

     

    On December 15, 2020, the Federal Government declared that after December 30, 2020, all SIMs that were not registered with valid NINs on the network of telecommunications companies would be blocked.

     

    It later extended the December 30, 2020 deadline following widespread opposition against the earlier announcement and gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020 to January 19, 2021.

     

    It also gave six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020 to February 9, 2021, but many organisations had called for further deadline extension or outright suspension of the NIN registration process due to the large crowds who had yet to have their NINs.

     

    On the meeting between NIMC workers and the communication minister, the President, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, NIMC Unit, Asekokhai Lucky, said some resolutions were reached.

     

    He said the minister told the union that some of the demands being presented by the workers were new to him, as he only took over the supervisory role of NIMC in October 2020.

     

    “So what he (Pantami) did was to set up a seven-man committee to work on the issues and submit a report to him in two weeks’ time,” Lucky stated.

     

    Lucky said the 21-day ultimatum earlier issued the management of NIMC was still in force, although there had been calls for the union to step down the ultimatum.

  • NIN: FG Grants Plateau Govt Licence To Register Residents

    NIN: FG Grants Plateau Govt Licence To Register Residents

    Following the challenges faced by residents of Plateau State in enrolling for the National Identity Number (NIN) as a result of few enrolment centres, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, says he has secured the licensing of Plateau State as a service provider for the enrolment of Nigerians residing in the State.

     

    The governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, in a statement on Sunday said the licence granted to Plateau State by the Federal Government was for one year subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance during the period.

     

    According to him, 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, Mr Aliyu Aziz, indicates that the Plateau State Government can now participate in the registration of citizens of the State into the national identity database in line with the provisions of the NIMC Act and other guidelines issued.