Nigeria delays SIM card registration order for second time: Statement

LAGOS: Nigeria has given telecommunication providers an extra eight weeks to add valid National Identification Numbers (NIN) to every SIM card registered in the country, according to a statement from the Nigeria Communications Commission.

The providers originally had two weeks, until Dec. 30, to make the changes before the deadline was extended for a first time. The latest deadline is April 6.

Adding the numbers to the some 200 million active mobile phone lines is a daunting task, one made more difficult by the fact that not all Nigerians have a national identification number.