NIN-SIM Linkage: FG Urged To Instruct Telecoms Brands To Unbar Phone Lines

The federal government has been urged by the Coalition of Southern and Middle Belt Youth Leaders Assembly (COSMBYLA) to immediately direct network providers to unbar Nigerians who have been barred from making calls for failing to link their lines to the National Identification Number (NIN).

Approximately 72 million Nigerians were barred from making calls following a directive from the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Ali Pantami.

The aggrieved citizens had stormed the telecommunications companies to link their SIMs to their NINs, with many queues being formed in different places.

Isa Pantami

Condemning the development, COSMBYLA stated that Nigerians have been denied access to their businesses and demanded the immediate resignation of Isa Pantami and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, Aliyu Azeez Abubakar over the alleged plot to cut some Nigerians off from their various livelihood.

"Nigerians who depended on phone calls to feed their families can no longer do so because their lines have been barred from making outgoing calls.

"The long queue in NIN registration centres makes it very difficult for Nigerians to get registered, resorting to demands of a bribe by the NIMC officials.

"Now that the telecommunication companies have barred outgoing calls of all unlinked lines, these NIMC officials will use it as an ample opportunity to increase the extortion rate.

"It is so unfortunate that such a high-level fraud will be going on and the FG will look the other way as if nothing is happening, this tells of complicity on the part of the Federal government.

"We demand that the phone lines of Nigerians be unbarred immediately, NIMC Officials should stop extorting Nigerians", the statement by the groups reads.