All mobile providers have been instructed by The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to revive any lines they severed over the weekend as soon as possible.
The regulator said in a statement on Monday that operators have been instructed to reconnect all connections that were severed over the weekend, even though users were blocked because they had not matched their NINs with their SIM cards.
Newsng understands that the planned protest and the allegations that the government was attempting to thwart the protest through telecoms may not be unrelated to the regulator’s abrupt U-turn, given that it had earlier given the telecom operators until July 31 to ban all lines with unverified NINs.
Over the weekend, MTN, Airtel, Globacom, 9mobile, and other telecom carriers blocked millions of lines, shocking and disbelieving the affected customers, many of whom claimed their lines had been connected to NIN for a long time.
It should be noted that the NCC issued an order requiring the compulsory linkage of NIN and SIMs in December 2020, when the federal government urged telecommunication providers to prohibit unregistered SIM cards and those not linked to NIN.
Since then, many Nigerians have had trouble connecting their lines.
The line blockage surprised Nigerians over the weekend, with many linking it to the government’s strategy to disrupt the planned statewide demonstration on August 1.
“Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM,” the commission said.
The NCC stated that it reviewed a deadline extension from April 15, 2024, to July 31, 2024, to allow subscribers time to line their SIMs and NINs.
Nevertheless, it pointed out that many phone lines have not yet been linked with verified NINs, and it was unclear if this new grace period would last past the initial deadline of July 31, 2024.
We earlier reported that NCC has announced that 100% of the SIM cards used in the country are made locally, citing the commission’s commitment to promoting local content and Indigenous involvement.
