Telecommunication operators in Nigeria, particularly MTN, Globacom, Airtel and 9mobile have started barring subscribers’ lines.

Investigation on Sunday shows that the telcos’ actions are based on the disconnection timelines set by the industry regulator to bar subscribers who are yet to link a national identification number (NIN) to their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card(s).

Result of the investigation is contrary to the claims in some quarters that the telcos are barring subscribers’ lines as part of government’s agenda to scuttle the proposed national protests.

The history of NIN-SIM linkage dates back to 2020

You would recall that mobile networks based on a December 2023 directive from the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) had barred subscribers who had not submitted their NINs for verification as of February 28, 2024.

In addition, a second set of subscribers with five or more SIM whose NINs failed verification were also fully barred on March 29, 2024.

There have been several deadlines given in the past on the cut-off date for SIM cards not linked to NINs, the last deadline for July 31, 2024 was planned to be definitive as shown from the strict adherence to the previous deadlines in February and March this year. This decision was reached long before the planned protests.

The telecom regulator had embraced a phased SIM barring approach, as the directive for disconnection is being rolled out in stages.

The compulsory NIN-SIM linkage began in December 2020 when the government directed telecommunication companies to block calls from unregistered SIM cards and SIMs that are not linked to NIN.

Despite the extension of deadlines, many phone lines are yet to be linked with verified NINs.

Three years later, the issue of SIM-NIN linkage continues to have hitches, especially from the behavioural side of telecom consumers.

The Commission had set April 15, 2024, for the full network barring of the subscribers with four or fewer SIMs with unverified NIN details.

This deadline was moved by NCC to July 31, 2024, to give telecommunications consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details are properly verified.

The date of July 31, 2024, was set as the last date since April in well-publicised news and notices by the NCC.

Why NCC insists on NIN-SIM linkage

The NCC’s seemingly hard-line position hinged on its objective to clean the country’s SIM ownership database and enhance national security.

At a forum in Lagos, long before the planned nationwide protests, Dr. Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of NCC, expressed NCC’s commitment to ensuring that criminals do not take advantage of having multiple unlinked SIMs to carry out their nefarious activities.

Not linked to Planned National Protests

A source at the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disagreed with social media users who accused the telcos of being used by the government to scuttle the planned national protests.

“This accusation about MTN or others barring people from its network is unfair, mischievous, and dangerous.

“Other networks have been disconnecting subscribers based on the extant policy in this regard. Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile, Smile Communications, VDT, etc., have been disconnecting non-compliant consumers, long before planned protests”.

“The NCC is considering extending the deadline against its wish, but that idea also came long before the scheduled protests.

“Nigerians need to demonstrate that they can reason and recall incidents and social issues and not allow themselves to be misled by those who are bent on bringing Nigeria down.

Omoniyi Kolade, CEO of SeerBit has called for implementation of a Unified Payment System (UPS) throughout Africa in order to promote financial inclusion, ease economic integration, and foster sustainable growth throughout the region.

Omoniyi Kolade, CEO of SeerBit

Kolade made the call during a media parley session at SeerBit office on Thursday, in Lagos.

According to him, Africa’s financial ecosystem is characterized by a plethora of payment systems, each operating in isolation, he added that this fragmentation hampers cross-border trade, increases transaction costs, and limits the efficiency of financial services.

“With 54 countries and multiple currencies, the complexity of financial transactions often deters businesses and individuals from engaging in cross-border activities.

“A UPS would streamline these processes, making transactions seamless and more cost-effective,” he advised.

For the meantime, the CEO disclosed that SeerBit has come up with payment solutions for the 54 countries in Africa, with 54 different currencies. “We have come up with payment options for these markets to ensure that customers are not differentiated and that they have several payment options.” he added.

On security, Kolade said SeerBit had put in place robust security features that ensure customers’ funds are safe. “We are Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance certified,” he stated.

Speaking on the goal of SeerBit, Kolade said, “Our goal is to make businesses grow and keep growing. We are not just creating payment solutions; we are also ensuring that your businesses grow as well. We want to build a platform that actually supports everything that has to do with value movement in the market, and we build products to actually meet different stakeholders in different markets.”

In the same vein, the product marketing manager, SeerBit, Uju Akinlolu, disclosed that SeerBit operates in over 10 African countries, adding that the payment platform enables the use of all the relevant local payment methods, with collections and payouts in local African currencies, and facilitating cross border settlement in currency of choice.

“With a single API Integration, you seamlessly expand into over 10 African countries allowing you to grow your business operations. With strategic partnerships, zero tolerance for error and stern compliance practices, we work to ensure seamless transactions.

“Our customers are at the heart of our operations and we work closely with you to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. Our solutions are built for flexibility, so they can power any payment process and integrate into any Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems,” Akinlolu further disclosed.

SeerBit is a payment gateway which helps businesses in Africa collect and manage payments to unlock latent potential and provide value to their customers.