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The National Identity Management Commission has issued fresh guidelines for applicants to obtain their National Identification Number (NIN).
Kayode Adegoke, the spokesman for the commission, in a statement on Tuesday titled, ‘NIMC Adopts Booking System For NIN Enrolment,’ urged all applicants to use face masks, maintain social distancing and wash their hands while at its centres across the country.
The statement further reads, “Mindful of the second wave of the COVID-19 which continues to severely affect public health and cause unprecedented disruptions, the Commission wishes to announce that it has adopted a couple of measures to contain the spread of the virus whilst ensuring its services to Nigerians are not entirely interrupted.
“Effective December 30, 2020, attending to applicants would be based on Booking System. For Bookings, applicants are to visit any of the NIMC Offices closest to them during stipulated business hours (9am – 1pm).
“Once admitted into the office, a Number-Issuing queue management system will be in place to ensure orderliness and strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols.”
Several Nigerians had on Tuesday gathered at the offices of the commission in Lagos and Abuja, to register for their National Identification Number (NIN).
Several people who gathered at the offices flouted COVID-19 protocols put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
It was observed that the majority of them did not use their face masks and physical distancing was not observed.
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, had initially issued a two-week ultimatum to all telecommunications operators in the country to block all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) without National Identification Number.
It later extended registration for NIN by up to six weeks, from December 30, 2020 to February 9, 2021
A statement jointly signed by the Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Umar Danbatta; and Director-General, National Identity Management Commission, Aliyu Aziz, said, “Based on the endorsement of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the following resolutions were made: Three (3) weeks extension for subscribers with NIN from 30th December 2020 to 19th January 2021; and six (6) weeks extension for subscribers without NIN from 30th December 2020 to 9th February 2021.”