Telecom Agents operating in Kaduna State have called for the reversal of the suspended Sim card registration, sales and activation,not to worsen the security situation in Nigeria.
The suspension of the excercise by the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy according to the Operators, had rendered about 2 million Nigerian youths jobless which might worsen the security situation .
Edu-Biznews recalled that the Federal Government last week, announced the suspension of the Sim card registration, to enable Nigerians have more time to obtain and link their National Identification Number (NIN) with Sim cards, as part of security measures to trace identify of every mobile phone user and prevent crime in the society.
But Arewa Telecom Operators Agents and SIMCard Dealers Association (ATOASDA) addressing newsmen in Kaduna on Monday, called for the review of the suspension by government, in order not to create more problems in an attempt to solve another.
ATOASDA President Hassan Yakubu assured the Federal Government of its support as a registered association under the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in taking measures aimed at protecting lives and property of the citizenry.
According to the Operators," The suspension of SIM card registration may trigger a worse form of insecurity, especially in the zones most affected by the insecurity. In fact, the growth in the Telecom sector is determined by the very sub-sector that was suspended and the much celebrated 17 per cent contribution by Telecom sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) was as a result of the activities of the sub-sector under suspension"
Yakubu explained that the income of the Operators of the telecoms agents who are within the age bracket of 20 and 40years in the value chain of the business, depend on the number of activations/SIM registration carried out within the month.
The telecom dealers, who claimed that they were aware of the Federal Government’s intention to address security challenges, suggested better ways of achieving the goals without stopping the excercise.
"We, therefore, wish to advise that the Federal Government can still achieve the desired result as well as avoid creating more problems in an attempt to solve a problem if the suspension is revised immediately to avoid the danger the suspension may expose the youths to", the association stated.
"We suggest that all existing SIM Cards must be paired with the NIN numbers within a stipulated time, while an average of three months should be allowed for smooth and effective pairing".
“We also suggest that the SIM Cards sale, registration and activation should be allowed to continue, while an average of 10 new NIN machines be deployed in every local government in the 774 local governments of the federation for a better reach".
“That no new SIM Card should be allowed to be synchronised without the support of NIN number and ID card until the SIM Card and NIN number pairing is concluded,” they suggested.
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