An overwhelmed and confused National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has granted telecommunication firms the license to register mobile phone subscribers on the National Identification Number (NIN) database.

The federal government extended the deadline for all Nigerians to link their SIMs to their NINs from December 30, 2020 to January 19 and then to February 9, 2021, as huge crowds continue to besiege under-staffed and rowdy NIMC offices peopled by demotivated personnel.

NIMC Director-General Aliyu Aziz says some private and public organisations have now been licensed by the commission to do the job as deadline day approaches.

“We have licensed private and public sector organisations including telcos (telecommunications companies) so as to create more centres,” Aziz tells PRNigeria.

Mobile phone subscribers who do not integrate their NINs with their phone numbers by February 9, would have their phone lines suspended or blocked, the federal government has repeatedly announced.