The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has appealed to the Nigerian Communications Commission for an extension of the NIN-SIM Linkage deadline from September 14 to September 30.

The National President of NATCOMS, Mr Deolu Ogunbanjo, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday that an extension was needed due to challenges with the National Identity Management Commission’s portal.

NAN reports that the NCC had set a deadline of September 14, 2024, for all mobile users to link their SIMs to their National Identification Numbers.

The NCC stressed the importance of the NIN-SIM linkage for improving digital security and reducing fraud and cybercrime.

Ogunbanjo stated that the two-week extension was necessary for NIMC to increase the capacity of its portal, adding that telecom operators at customer centres often struggled to upload information on the NIMC portal.

He said that difficulties in uploading on the NIMC portal had frustrated the process and caused delays.

“As I visited the customer centres of Airtel and MTN, I witnessed firsthand the struggles they faced in uploading data to the NIMC portal.

“The congestion was palpable, and the slow pace of uploads was frustrating.

“It was clear that the NIMC portal lacked the capacity to handle the surge in uploads, causing undue stress for telecom operators and their subscribers.

“I am appealing to the NCC to grant an extension of the deadline to September 30, to allow more time for NIMC to expand its portal capacity.

Ogunbanjo said that this would alleviate the current difficulties and ensure a smoother experience for all stakeholders.

In a NAN check at some customer centres, a food vendor, Mrs Zainab Olajide, said that although the process of linking and unblocking her SIM was seamless, the operators at the centre demanded N1,000 before attending to her.

Olajide said that failure to pay meant the customer would not be attended to, adding that the agents at the centre took advantage of the situation due to the crowd.

She said that although she arrived at the centre at 10 a.m., her number was 282, and she pleaded for an extension of the deadline to allow more people to get back online.

Also, a consultant, Mr Clement Umeadi, decried the extortion that took place at his customer centre in Alagbado.

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Umeadi said that what annoyed him most was paying N2,000 to unblock his two barred lines.

He stressed that the NIN-SIM linkage should be a continuous process with no set deadline, arguing that such deadlines encouraged unwholesome practices.

Additionally, at a customer centre in Opebi, an accountant, Josh Manuel, said the registration process was seamless. He added that despite the crowd, there was orderliness and effective management.

He said that the agents were professional in handling the process and no money was demanded.

“I was compelled to appreciate the staff I met, especially the security, for their professionalism in handling the crowd,” he said.

A staff member at the customer centre, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the adherence of subscribers to the deadline was impressive.

She said that, prior to the present extension, subscribers were in the habit of rushing at the last minute, but this was not the case at the centre.

A teacher, Mrs Olushola Oke, lamented the slow pace of uploads at a customer centre in Ogba.

Oke said that the crowd at the centre was due to the slow pace of work, which was frustrating.

According to her, it was only after her third early morning visit to the centre that her line was unblocked.

She called for an extension of the exercise to enable more people to have their lines unblocked, especially those who had experienced similar delays.

An agent at the customer centre in Ogba, Mr Quadri Adegoke, told NAN that verification on the NIMC portal was not encouraging.

Adegoke said this had slowed the pace of work and made the entire process frustrating.

He said it was hard to determine whether the slow uploads were due to ongoing construction work in the area that might have interfered with the network or the traffic on NIMC’s website.

NAN