The Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, on behalf of the telecommunications companies such as Airtel, MTN, Globacom and 9Mobile said the penalty remains the same for subscribers who have not obtained their National Identity Number (NIN) let alone link it with their SIMs.

He said this on Monday when allaying the fear of subscribers who have got their NIN but have not linked it with their SIMs cards, noting that they would not be blocked.   

Adebayo revealed that “If you already have your NIN and you have delivered the number to your service provider and it has been acknowledged and forwarded to NIMC, I don’t think the penalty will be there for you as from tomorrow (Tuesday) if your SIM has not been registered with the NIN.

“This is because as far as you are concerned as a subscriber, you have uploaded that number to your operator and forwarded to NIMC.

“Now the further interrogation of that means that you are not supposed to be penalised because you have done what you are required to do to your service provider and to NIMC.”

He added that the penalty would be mainly for those who do not have the NIN and who were unable to deliver their NINs to their service providers.

 “So those in the problem category are those who do not have the NIN and who have not delivered the NIN to their service providers by Tuesday.

“Therefore if you as a subscriber have submitted your NIN to your service provider and this has been forwarded to NIMC, at this stage I am not aware of any penalty for you,” he said.

No information has been released on whether the deadline for NIN enrolment will be extended again or not.

When asked about any possible extension of the deadline, the media aide to the communications Minister, Uwa Suleiman, replied, “I am not aware of any.”