MTN says it has ordered 14,000 new devices to enrol and capture National Identity Numbers.
The devices, it said, are expected to arrive in Nigeria in two weeks.
The telecom company during an investors call on Thursday told shareholders that the Federal Government had granted MTN and other operators a licence to register the identities of Nigerians, Bloomberg reported.
“This will enable us to enrol NINs on behalf of the National Identity Management Commission and validate information against their database, incoming MTN Nigeria CEO, Mazen Mroue, said on an investor call.
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“It is a licence and capability we have been seeking for some time,” Mroue said.
MTN said its executives would form part of a high-profile team with other operators and the government that would assess the practicality of the two-week deadline.
The telecom company said it would work with the Nigerian authorities to implement the integration of NIN with mobile lines by the end of the year.
As part of the push by Nigerian government to tackle rising insecurity, telecommunications companies have been ordered to link SIM cards to national identity numbers by the end of the year.
Those that do not comply by December 31 risk having their phones cut off, with millions of lines at risk.
“We embrace and support the government’s push to broaden national identification numbers, or NIN, enrollment and will continue to engage with relevant authorities on the matter to establish implementation processes and time-lines for execution,” Group Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Mupita said in an interview.
