Date: 2021-01-02

The federal government has been urged to withdraw the suspension order placed on sales, registration and activation of SIM cards, following reported hardship being faced by phone users in the country.

In a statement by the Association of SIM Registration Agents (ASREG), Kwara State chapter, in Ilorin on Friday, the group also said that millions of Nigerian youths have been rendered jobless by the recent suspension order by the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy.

It is recalled that the Federal government directive on the suspension of new registration of SIM cards was attributed to the rising insecurity across the country. It was said that unlimited access to pre-registered SIM cards has always aided criminals to perpetuate and get away with their acts of kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and acts of terrorism.

As a result of those, the Federal government has directed NCC to suspend Activation of new SIM cards in order to allow an audit of the subscribers, registration, database and to also verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operatives (MNO) with the set quality standards and requirements as issued by the Ministry and the Commission.

Speaking on the behalf of the association, the chairman, Mr Sunday Ajimoko, said, "As a registered association under the Corporate Affairs Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with the registration number RC119510 we are fully in support of the Federal Government's measures to protect the lives and properties of the citizenry."

He, however, advised the Federal Government to tread carefully, saying that available research works on causes of insecurity across the country had been linked primarily to youth unemployment.

Ajimoko, who said that the suspension order may lead to a worse form of insecurity especially on our economic activities, added that income of millions of youth who depend solely on sales, registration and activation of SIM cards had been placed on hold.

"More importantly, the prospective buyers of new SIM cards expressed their disappointment over the absence of new SIM cards in the market due to the current suspension which has invariably affected the sales of phones and other gadgets.

"We, therefore, wish to say that, the Federal Government can still achieve her desired objectives and results as well as avoiding creating more problems in an attempt to solve a problem if the suspension is reversed to avoid danger which the suspension may likely cause to the idle youths.

"We suggest that no new SIM card should be able to synchronize without being paired with the subscriber's National Identification Number while activating the linking of subscriber's number with their respective NIN. We, therefore, suggest that sales of SIMs, registration and activation should be allowed to continue while the linking of SIM to NIN should be ongoing in order to achieve the desired results.