By Modupe Gbadeyanka
GSM network providers in Nigeria have been directed to stop charging N20 from subscribers for the retrieval of the National Identification Number (NIN).
On Tuesday, the federal government ordered the operators to block all mobile number not linked with the NIN from December 31, 2020.
This prompted the four major players in the industry; MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Glo and 9mobile to collaborate with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to create an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code to enable subscribers to retrieve their NIN without going to the office of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for such.
However, this service, which is offered through the *346# code, was with a fee of N20, which some Nigerians have kicked against, calling it another ploy to generate revenue for the government.
Recall that the federal government has been battling with low revenue generation because of a decline in the price of crude oil, the main source of earnings for the country.
This has made the government increase the value-added tax (VAT) to 7.5 per cent from 5.0 per cent. The situation has also made the federal government come up with means to increase fees where necessary and the citizens are saying the N20 fee for NIN retrieval was another strategy.
But the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, has said telcos should stop charging when subscribers use the *346# code.
The Minister, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, said the directive is with immediate effect.
“The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to remove the N20 USSD fee imposed on subscribers for NIN retrieval requests.
“The Minister’s directive, which takes immediate effect, is an intervention aimed at making the process easier and affordable,” Mrs Suleiman said.
“In a letter conveying the implementation of the directive, the Executive Vice Chairman [of the] NCC and the Director-General of NIMC, informed Dr Pantami that the relevant authorities had met with, and negotiated a waiver with the Mobile Network Operators in that regard.
“By this waiver, all Nigerians, subscribers and applicants can access the service using the *346# code for their NIN retrieval at no charge for the duration of the NIN/SIM Card integration exercise,” she added.
