The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria on Wednesday said the deadline for Nigerians to link their National Identity Number to the SIM registration database has been extended till February 9.

The deadline had earlier been scheduled to elapse on Tuesday.

According to a statement signed by ALTON’s Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, the directive to extend the deadline was given by President Muhammadu Buhari, as confirmed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

“We want to thank the President for giving us more time to deliver on this all-important assignment of creating a credible national identity database for the country,” the statement said.

“We are also grateful to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Ali Pantami, for his commitment to enabling digital economy.

“To ensure that we utilize the extension period judiciously, we urge all telecom subscribers who have a NIN to link it to their SIM Cards through available channels as soon as possible. Those yet to enroll are advised to visit www.nimc.gov.ng for a list of enrolment centres close to them.”