Economy

SIM-NIN linkage: Blocked lines rise to 40 million

Published

1 year ago

March 4, 2024

No fewer than 40 million telephone lines were barred by telecommunication operators over the weekend following the expiration of the February 28, 2024 deadline issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission mandating telecom consumers to link the Subscriber Identity Module to their National Identity Numbers.

This represents a 28 million increase from the 12 million telephone lines initially planned to be deactivated by telcos, following the NCC directive.

In a December 2023 notice, the NCC had asked telcos to bar SIMs that had not been linked to their owners’ NINs by February 28, 2024.

On Thursday, the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, ruled out an extension of the deadline, warning that telcos that failed to enforce the deadline would be sanctioned.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo, then disclosed to The PUNCH telcos would bar 12 million lines as a result of the directive.

However, on Sunday, the ALTON chair revealed that the number of barred lines had risen to 40 million, pointing out that SIMs without NIN were included in the number.

In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, Adebayo said, “I can tell you that over 40 million lines have been blocked and the affected customers are those who didn’t submit their NIN at all. Some persons have not presented any NIN to operators. They haven’t registered their SIMs or participated in the harmonisation programme.

They simply haven’t made any presentation of the NIN number to their operators and those were the persons blocked. So why is the number so alarming despite repeated warnings? It shows many people still communicate but are not registered.”

In the December 2023 notice, the NCC had also asked the Global Satellite Mobile Communications operators to bar SIMs holders whose NINs have been submitted but not verified by March 29, 2024; and interdict those who have less than five lines linked to an unverified NIN by April 15, 2024.

The Federal Government had, on December 16, 2020, introduced the SIM-NIN synchronisation initiative meant to enable security agencies to track criminals.

The synchronisation involves validating the NIN with the National Identity Management Commission and matching the subscriber’s NIN records with the SIM registration information (verification) to ensure proper subscriber identification.

However, Nigerians have raised questions on why security agencies have not used the SIM-NIN linkage to track criminals, especially bandits and kidnappers, who often use mobile telephone lines to speak with victims’ families during ransom negotiations.

Presently, there are 224.7 million active mobile telephone lines in the country, according to the information released by the NCC on its website.

On Sunday, the ALTON chairman did not give the breakdown of subscribers or SIMs that were deactivated by telcos over the weekend.

He said, “No, we currently don’t have the breakdown of disconnected lines per network right now but I know over 40 million lines have been deactivated.”

Adebayo further hinted that another series of disconnections would be implemented by the end of the month and mid April.

Adebayo said, “The second tier of disconnections that will happen are those who have provided NIN but have more than five Mobile Subscription Identification Numbers associated with their NIN, and these have not been verified.

This is because some have differences in the order of their names, and some have differences in their date of birth.

The information provided to the operator when they did the SIM registration is different from what they provided (to NIMC) when they did their NIN. Some subscribers also have some differences in other records that are very critical to their verification process.

“So these people who have more than five MSINs attached to their NIN and haven’t been verified will be disconnected effective March 30, 2024. So we may have more disconnections happening by the end of this month.

If somebody has given a name that has not been verified and has been receiving text messages to verify and they haven’t done that, by March 30th, those people will be disconnected and the figures will further increase.”

He explained, “There are two sources of data-primary and secondary. During the first registration process, the customer’s information is on-boarded to a server when everyone did the SIM registration but the secondary record is for details given during NIN. Hence your primary record has to be uniform with the secondary data across the platforms before you can be verified.

“Furthermore, for those who have less than five MSINs, by April 15th, they will be disconnected if they don’t harmonise their records before then. So we are going to go through a series of disconnections or service suspensions over the next two months if people don’t follow the laid down regulations.”

Reacting, the President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, has said the body will seek redress in court on Thursday if the deadline is not extended.

Adeolu, who confirmed that the number of barred subscribers was above 12 million earlier indicated, asked the NCC to consider the plight of customers and grant a 31-day extension.

In an interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, he said, “We have appealed to the Nigerian Communication Commission to extend the deadline till March 31st. But if this is not done, we will observe the situation for the next three days, that is Monday to Wednesday and if this is not granted, we will have to file a case in court on Thursday.

“We have and still appealing that this deadline be extended. We understand their position concerning security issues but a 31-day extension would not harm anyone and that is why we didn’t ask for three months. The NCC boss should please give us this gift as a resumption gift and not punish subscribers.”

Economy

SEE Naira To Dollar Exchange Rate, Black Market– March 2

Published

2 days ago

March 2, 2025

Naijablitznews

The naira is exchanging for ₦1,500 to 1 US Dollar at the parallel market (black market) in Nigeria.

This means that for every one dollar, you can get the equivalent in naira of ₦1,500 on March 2, 2025.

The black market rate signifies the value at which individuals can trade their dollars for naira outside the official or regulated exchange channels.

Note that the Black Market Exchange rate is typically higher than the official exchange rate because it is not regulated by the government.

Today’s March 2 exchange shows that the naira has remained stable against the dollar, maintaining the same rate as it traded on Saturday, March 1, when the naira exchanged at ₦1,500.

The value of any nation’s currency is determined by aggregate supply and demand.

The forces of supply and demand are themselves influenced by a number of factors, including interest rates, inflation, capital flow, and money supply.

Economy

Nigeria’s economy experiencing growth as GDP grows 3.84% in Q4

Published

7 days ago

February 26, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria’s strategy to reduce its dependence on oil is proving effective, with the non-oil sector contributing 95.40 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The oil sector, however, only accounted for a scant 4.60 percent during this period.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had previously communicated its plans to rebase the GDP but has since reverted to the traditional approach.

Although there was no explanation from the statistics house on why it failed to rebase the GDP, speculations are that it stepped back because of the backlash it received from the rebased CPI figures it released just last week.

Analysts say the inability to release rebased GDP figures is a significant concern, noting that rebased figures are essential for providing an accurate and up-to-date picture of the economy.

They say that without rebasing, the GDP figures may not accurately reflect the current structure and size of the Nigerian economy, particularly given the rapid changes in sectors like technology and services.

The reform measures introduced by the present administration brought with them intense hardship on the populace. With high inflation draining the purchasing power of the citizens, many businesses have either shut down or found their way out of the country, throwing many into the unemployment market.

According to the report released yesterday, the gross domestic product (GDP) in real terms grew by 3.84 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 on a year-on-year basis, which is 0.38 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in Q4 2023, which was 3.46 per cent.

The report shows that the year 2024 ended with an overall annual GDP growth rate of 3.40 per cent. This is higher than the projections by agencies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had earlier projected that the country’s GDP would grow by 3.2 per cent in 2024.

The NBS reports that the services sector remains the major driver of the economy, growing by 5.37 per cent and contributing 57.38 per cent to the aggregate GDP. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the real GDP grew by 10.99 per cent in Q4 2024, reflecting a higher production level than in Q3 2024.

The estimated economic activity in real terms for Q4 2024 stood at ₦22,610,393.45 million, which is higher than the rates recorded in Q3 2024 and Q4 2023, which stood at ₦20,115,766.93 million and ₦21,773,263.25 million, respectively.

In nominal terms, aggregate GDP stood at ₦78,374,120.95 million in Q4 of 2024, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 18.91 per cent.
This is higher than the value of ₦65,908,258.59 million in Q4 2023 and ₦71,131,091.07 million in the preceding quarter.

The NBS reports that the economic performance of the non-oil sector in Q4 2024 is attributed to the growth recorded in some economic activities, including rail transport and pipelines, metal ores, financial institutions, road transport, quarrying and other minerals, and insurance.

An analysis of the report shows that the major contributing economic activities in real terms in the quarter under review are crop production (23.42 per cent), trade (15.11 per cent), telecommunication (14.40 per cent), real estate (5.88 per cent), financial institutions (5.76 per cent), and crude petroleum (4.60 per cent).

The agricultural sector grew by 1.76 per cent, while the industry grew by 2.00 per cent, showing a decline compared to the rate recorded in Q4 2023 at 2.10 per cent and 3.86 per cent.

The report shows that agriculture contributed 25.59 per cent, industry 17.03 per cent, and services 57.38 per cent. Agriculture and industry’s contributions were less than their contributions in Q4 of 2023 by 0.53 per cent and 0.31 percentage points. The services sector had the highest contribution to the GDP in Q4 2024, surpassing its contribution in the corresponding quarter of 2023 by 0.83 percentage points.

The annual contributions of the economic sectors show that agriculture contributed 24.64 per cent in 2024, which is lower compared to its contribution of 25.18 per cent in 2023. Similarly, the industry sector’s annual contribution was 18.47 per cent, which is also lower than the figure recorded for 2023, which was 18.65 per cent.

However, the services sector’s contribution for 2024 was 56.89 per cent, exceeding the 56.18 per cent recorded for 2023.

Further disaggregation of the economic activities into oil and non-oil sectors shows that oil GDP grew by 1.48 per cent in Q4 2024, which is a decline compared to 12.11 per cent recorded in Q4 2023 and the previous quarter of Q3 2024, which stood at 5.17 per cent.

The annual oil GDP for 2024 grew by 5.54 per cent, which is 7.75 per cent higher than the annual GDP recorded for 2023 (-2.22 per cent), while the annual contribution of oil stood at 5.51 per cent in 2024, higher than its contribution in Q4 2023, which was 5.40 per cent.

The report also shows that the fourth quarter of 2024 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.54 million barrels per day (mbpd), lower than the daily average production of 1.56 mbpd recorded in the same quarter of 2023 by 0.03 mbpd.

On the contrary, the fourth quarter of 2024 production volume was higher than that of the third quarter of 2024 (1.47 mbpd) by 0.06 mbpd.

Reacting to the GDP report, Professor Godwin Oyedokun of Lead City University, Ibadan, said the GDP growth is a moderately positive sign, but the lack of rebased figures raises concerns.

He said, “The Nigerian government needs to address the challenges of data collection and rebasing, as well as focus on inclusive growth and economic diversification. This lack of current data makes it harder to properly create effective economic policy.”

Economy

CBN targets single-digit inflation in three years

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set its sights on reducing inflation to a single digit in the medium to long term, following the recent rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and subsequent decline in inflation to 24.48 per cent.

CBN Governor, Dr Olayemi Cardoso, who spoke yesterday at a press briefing after the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of 2025, reiterated the apex bank’s commitment to orthodox monetary policies, noting that the positive outcomes so far indicate that inflation is trending downward.

He said that after two days of deliberation, the MPC decided to maintain all key monetary policy parameters, including the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 27.50 per cent, the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +500/-100 basis points, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50.00 per cent for Deposit Money Banks and 16.00 per cent for Merchant Banks, and the Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent.

Clarifying the impact of the rebased CPI, Cardoso explained that the lower inflation figure should not be misinterpreted.

He underlined the need to analyse more data before drawing comparisons, noting that the CBN is currently assessing the figures and will provide further guidance in due course.

Despite the complexities, he pointed out that inflation is gradually declining, supported by the recent stability and appreciation of the foreign exchange rate, with the differential between the official and parallel markets now less than one percent.

He stressed the critical importance of collaboration between monetary and fiscal authorities in sustaining recent economic improvements.

He cited the recent Monetary Policy Forum as an example, where stakeholders from the organised private sector, Bureau de Change operators, and government representatives, including the Minister of Finance, participated.

Cardoso noted that both sides are committed to deepening their dialogue and holding regular meetings to address key economic issues proactively.

Addressing concerns about the impact of elevated borrowing costs on economic growth, the CBN Governor assured that the apex bank’s primary objective is to stabilize the foreign exchange and financial markets.

He expressed confidence that such stability would attract increased foreign investments, stimulating the much-needed economic growth.

He also highlighted the competitiveness of the Nigerian currency, which has spurred growing interest from international investors.

Cardoso said that improved oil production, reaching 1.54 million barrels per day by the end of January 2025, would strengthen Nigeria’s current account position and positively impact external reserves. Despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges, the MPC observed that the banking sector remains resilient. However, the Committee urged the CBN to maintain vigilant oversight, particularly in light of ongoing banking system recapitalisation, ensuring that only quality capital is injected.

The MPC noted several factors expected to positively influence price dynamics in the near to medium term, including the stabilisation of the foreign exchange market, the moderation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) prices, and the federal government’s efforts to improve security in food-producing areas.

The Committee emphasised the need for continued collaboration between monetary and fiscal authorities to maintain and build upon these gains.

Additionally, the MPC acknowledged improvements in the external sector, with the convergence of exchange rates between the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM) and Bureau de Change (BDC) operators.

The Committee commended CBN’s recent measures, such as the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System and the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Code, aimed at enhancing transparency and credibility in the forex market.

The MPC expressed confidence that recent monetary and fiscal policy measures would attract increased foreign direct investment, portfolio inflows, and diaspora remittances as investor confidence grows.

The Committee also assured of its commitment to sustaining these measures to anchor inflation expectations, ease exchange rate pressures, deepen financial inclusion, and enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission mechanisms.