He disclosed this today in an interview with our correspondent.

He said, “I can’t say anything for now. But there is a press release waiting for the minister’s approval that should be available today.”

When asked if the deadline would be extended, he didn’t give a positive response.

In an earlier interview with our correspondent, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbenga Adebayo said the nation was making progress as regards the SIM-NIN linkage.

Recall that the deadline for the SIM-NIN linkage is going to expire on October 31, 2021.

He said, “We have covered a lot of ground. There has to be a meeting within the stakeholders to determine if there should be an extension.”

The Chairman, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Ikechukwu Nnamani, had earlier told our correspondent that stakeholders would be meeting soon to make a decision.

A recent statement by the Nigerian Communications Commission urged subscribers to link their NINs with their SIMs before the expiration of the deadline of October 31, 2021.

Speaking during a live programme, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Ikechukwu Adinde urged Nigerians to make use of the extension of the NIN-SIM integration exercise to October 31, 2021, to enrol with NIMC, get their NINs and link them to their SIMs.

He hinted that after the extension elapsed, Nigerians might be denied access to necessary services including acquisition of a driving licence, passport, etc without NIN.

The Director, Public Affairs Nigerian Communications Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde; and the Head, Corporate Communications, Nigeria Identity Management Commission, Kayode Adegoke, made this known in a joint statement on Monday, titled ‘FG Extends NIN-SIM verification deadline to 31st October, 2021′.

Before now, FG had approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to July 26, 2021.

The statement read, “The Federal Government has approved the extension of the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to October 31, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline was made following a request by stakeholders to accommodate registration in hard-to-reach remote areas, foreigners and diplomatic missions, diaspora and address low enrolments in schools and hospitals, as evidenced by enrolment statistics. It also followed a review of the progress of the exercise which indicated significant progress hence the need to consolidate the gains of the enrolment and NIN-SIM verification process across the country. As of July 24th, 2021, there are over 5,500 enrolment systems within and outside the country and this would significantly ease the NIN enrolment process and subsequent linkage of NIN to SIM. The administration of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the extension as part of efforts to make it easier for its citizens within and outside the country, and legal residents to obtain the NIN and it is important to take advantage of the extension. The NIN-SIM linkage also makes it easier for the security agencies to carry out their statutory duties and the relevant parastatals under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy are supporting them as required. There are now a total of 59.8 million unique NIN enrolments, with an average of three to four SIMs per NIN. With the great number of enrolment centres within and outside the country, and many more coming up, every citizen, legal resident, and Nigerian citizen living in the diaspora should be able to obtain their NINs. The Federal Government is also excited at the news that the use of NIN in the process of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board exam significantly reduced the challenge of exam malpractice. The Minister, on behalf of the Federal Government, appreciates Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise. Similarly, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Garba Dambatta, and the Director-General/CEO of that National Identity Management Commission, Engr Aliyu Azeez, urge citizens and legal residents to make sure they use the opportunity to complete the process of enrolment and verification before the October 31st deadline.”