The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the successful completion of the federal government’s initiative to link all mobile phone numbers to National Identification Numbers (NIN). This significant achievement was revealed by Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, during the 2024 Annual Corporate Governance Conference in Lagos on Thursday.

The NIN-SIM linkage policy, implemented in 2020, aims to enhance national security, combat insecurity, and simplify the identification process. It mandates that all mobile phone users connect their phone numbers to their NIN.

Maida remarked, “We have recently finalized the implementation of the federal government’s 2020 policy to associate every phone number with a NIN. While it may have been challenging for Nigerians, we must recognize its importance.”

He highlighted that every phone number is now linked to a verified NIN, stating, “Today, there is no phone number that cannot be associated with a verified NIN— not just any number, but one that has undergone verification.”

In August, the NCC set September 14, 2024, as the final deadline for Nigerians to complete the SIM-NIN linkage process.