The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced the successful completion of the federal government’s initiative to link all phone numbers in the country with a National Identification Number (NIN).

This was revealed by Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, during the 2024 Annual Corporate Governance Conference in Lagos on Thursday.

Discussing the significance of the NIN-SIM linkage, Maida acknowledged the challenges Nigerians faced during the process but stressed its long-term benefits.

“We have recently concluded the implementation of the federal government’s 2020 policy of linking every phone number to a NIN,” he said.

“Though it was a bit painful for Nigerians, I think we also need to appreciate what that does for us. Today, there is no phone number that we cannot associate with a verified NIN. Not just a number, but a number that has been verified.”

The linkage is expected to enhance security and improve the accuracy of identifying phone users in the country.