MTN Group Ltd. will work with the Nigerian authorities to implement a regulatory requirement that all mobile lines be linked to residents’ identity numbers by the end of the year. As part of a push by Africa’s most-populous nation to tackle rising insecurity in a country where only one in four people have official identification, telecommunications companies have been ordered to link SIM cards to national identity numbers by the end of the year. Subscribers who are non-compliant by Dec. 31 risk having their phones cut off, with millions of lines at risk. “We embrace and support the government’s push to broaden national identification numbers, or NIN, enrollment and will continue to engage with relevant authorities on the matter to establish implementation processes and time-lines for execution,” Group Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said in an interview. The NIN is used to match a person with his or her biometric data and other details in the National Identity Database during verification and authentication.
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG
More Stories
Lagos Rising: Meet the African Designers Who are Ushering in a New Guard of Fashion
My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum
In His Imaginative Debut Feature, Walé Oyéjidé Brings Together Elements of His Life’s Work
What is Zellige Tile?
Ousmane Sembène at 100: A Tribute to Senegal’s ‘Father of African Cinema’
Inside an Ultra-exclusive Lodge on the Fringe of Etosha National Park
Tourists Flock to Nigerian Cave And Waterfall For Its ‘Healing Powers’
Morocco is Just as Worthy for a Sun Trip
African Markets Offer Unique Goods and Experiences
Get to Know East Africa’s Art Scene
Mo Ibrahim’s Index Looks at Africa’s State of Governance
France to Give Burkina Faso What It Wants