The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has called for an extension of the National Identification Number (NIN) to Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) linkage deadline to Sept. 30. The National Communication Commission (NCC) had earlier announced Sept 14 as the deadline for the linkage. Deolu Ogunbanjo, the National President of NATCOMS, made the appeal at the weekend. He said the request was due to the difficulties encountered with the NIMC portal which had hindered the smooth completion of the NIN-SIM linkage process. ‘’We are experiencing significant issues with the NIMC portal. The portal’s inability to handle the high volume of uploads has led to delays and frustrations for both telecom operators and subscribers. We urge the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to extend the deadline to September 30, which would allow NIMC to enhance its portal capacity and improve the process for everyone involved,” he said
Ogunbanjo said the inability of the portal to handle the surge led to significant delays in completing the NIN-SIM linkage. He said these challenges were noticed firsthand during visits to customer service centres of major telecom operators like Airtel and MTN. NATCOMS president described the congestion and slow process as frustrating. He said the extension would allow NIMC to enhance the capacity of its portal and improve the process for all concerned.
