By Francesca Hangeior.
The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria has stated that the recent disconnection of SIM cards by mobile operators is unrelated to the planned national protest.
The nationwide protest is set to commence on August 1 to draw attention to the country’s economic challenges and demand improved living conditions.
In a statement, the telecom operators clarified that the disconnections are part of a scheduled exercise to align National Identification Numbers with SIM registration records, set to conclude on July 31, 2024.
Initially planned for April 15, 2024, the disconnection was postponed to July 31 by the Nigeria Communications Commission following requests for extensions due to subscriber challenges.
The Federal Government mandated SIM card blocks for those not linked to NINs in 2020, a measure introduced in response to increasing terrorist attacks, kidnappings, and banditry during the final months of President Buhari’s administration.
“The fact of the matter is that the harmonisation exercise of the SIM registration database and National Identity database has been ongoing for several months,” the telcos association stated.
ALTON, chaired by Gbenga Adebayo, explained that this harmonisation process had been underway for several months and aimed to enhance the accuracy and integrity of the National SIM registration database.
“Customers who had their lines blocked recently are those whose service providers found a mismatch between their records on both databases.