The federal government has approved a SIM card replacement policy for subscribers whose SIMs have been lost, stolen, misplaced or damaged subject to certain conditions.
This is contained in a statement jointly released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Recall that the NCC had earlier directed mobile network operators to suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards to allow an audit of the subscriber registration database.
Replacing lost, stolen, misplaced or damaged SIM cards was also affected by the directive after the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami directed the NCC to embark on an audit of the subscriber registration database.
However, with a new directive for Nigerians and legal residents in Nigeria to link their National Identification Numbers (NINs) to their phone numbers, the need to allow for subscribers who have lost their SIM cards to replace them came up.
Based on recommendations, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy approved the SIM replacement policy under the conditions that subscribers present a NIN; an effective verification of the NIN is carried out by NIMC; and that the relevant guidelines and regulations of NCC concerning SIM replacement are fully adhered to.
This is aimed at enabling telecommunications service users who need to replace their damaged, stolen or misplaced SIMs to re-establish access to telecom services.