FG announces date for issuance of new SIM cards, registration

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has informed that the issuance of new SIM cards will resume on April 19 with mandatory NIN.

The information is contained in a statement signed by Femi Ademiluyi, a Technical aide to Minister, Isa Pantami on Thursday.

He said new SIM cards will be rolled out “as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.”

Recall that the issuance of SIM cards was suspended in December 2020

Parts of the statement read: “Federal government approves the activation of new SIM registration with mandatory NIN in line with the Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration

“An earlier Policy was approved on the 4th of February 2020, while the Revised Policy was developed in early March 2021. The final amendments to the revised Policy based on the directives of Mr President to make the use of NIN mandatory for all SIM registration were completed yesterday, 14th of April, 2021.

“The implementation of the Policy will commence on Monday, 19th of April 2021. The issuance of New SIMs and other suspended activities will resume on the same date, as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.

“The Minister has also instructed NCC and NIMC to ensure that the provisions of the Policy are strictly followed by all operators and subscribers.”

Dr Pantami commended Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise