Millions of Nigerians are desperate to register with the commission after the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last week directed telecommunications operators to block all SIM cards not registered with NIN by the end of 2020.

The NIN is issued by the NIMC upon enrolment into the National Identity Database and is used to capture an individual's records.

The agency was forced to shut down some of its enrolment centres on Monday, December 21 after they were overcrowded by Nigerians who were desperate to have their data captured in exchange for their NIN.

The NIMC said the centres were shut down due to non-adherence to the COVID-19 pandemic prevention protocols.

In response, the agency announced that it would be adopting a daily number-issuing style of admittance on a first-come-first-served basis.

"This is to manage the crowd in line with established COVID-19 regulations. 

"We hereby regret any inconvenience this action must have caused," the agency said.

The National Task Force on NIN and SIM Registration also announced on Monday that the December 30 deadline has been extended till next year.

Subscribers with NIN have been given the grace to connect it with their records before January 19, 2021, while those without NIN have till February 9, 2021 to get it and update their records.

The task force also maintained that USSD and verification charges remain suspended for the period of the extended exercise.