The House of Representatives yesterday urged the federal government to extend the deadline for the synchronisation of subscribers’ SIM card registration with their National Identification Number (NIN) by telecommunication service providers to 10 weeks.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, had on Tuesday, issued a directive that makes it compulsory for all SIM cards to be linked to National Identity Number (NIN), giving a two-week deadline for compliance.
But the House at the plenary said that NCC should give a reasonable amount of time to enable Nigerians to comply with the instruction.
It also mandated the House Committee on Communications to ensure compliance.
The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, moved by the Minority Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu.
Elumelu, moving the motion noted that as laudable as the idea behind the policy may seem, the timing is very wrong because Nigerians have not been properly sensitized.
He said if the NCC is not urgently called to halt their plans there may be unnecessary panic in the country, which may lead to the exploitation of vulnerable Nigerian thereby causing more pains in an already pathetic situation.
According to him, ”The timing is very wrong because Nigerians have not been properly sensitized as only a few educated persons who bother to read the dailies might have heard about this instructions, therefore, trying to enforce this policy in a period where most Nigerians are gearing up for Christmas festivities may lead to stampede in the process of rushing to get registered, which could lead to unnecessary death and injuries.”
He said if the NCC is allowed to carry out this directive, it will bring about untold hardship as millions of subscribers will be disconnected during the yuletide period, which he said could spell disaster in an already volatile situation.
Adopting the motion, the House resolved that the exercise should end on February 28, 2021, as against December 30, 2020.
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