This morning, we learnt that the main regulator of the telecommunication sector in Nigeria (NCC) has issued directives to network service providers to suspend SIM registration.
According to an image shared by a social media user, MTN Nigeria, a leading service provider will be taking their SIM registration portal down. As a result, the registration of new SIM cards, reactivation of old SIMs and any additional registration will be unavailable.
Also, the statement contained in the image shared online did not include any specific reasons why NCC issued the directive. However, the news has been confirmed by multiple reliable sources including employees of mobile network providers. We have no confirmed details on why NCC issued the directives. One likely reason for the suspension might be for security.
Other services like sales and activation of new 4G MIFI, Routers and modems might be affected by the suspension.
MTN, Glo, Airtel, 9Mobile are all expected to follow the directive from NCC. When will SIM registration return? We do not have an answer for that at the moment.