The position that people who have registered for Bank Verification Number (BVN) automatically have a National Identity Number (NIN) has been rubbished by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
NIMC’s spokesperson, Kayode Adegoke, revealed that the claim is incorrect as the commission must capture peoples’ data first before allocating NIN to them.
However, he admitted that the commission had earlier harmonised its data with some BVN data.
Adegoke’s reaction follows a trending claim on social media that Nigerians who enrolled for the BVN as early as 2014 already have National Identity Number (NIN) and do not need to register for it again.
Recall that the federal government had directed telecommunications companies to block all SIM cards that are not linked with valid NINs within a two-week deadline.
The deadline was however subsequently reviewed to six weeks following the intervention of the lawmakers.
The government gave three weeks’ extension for subscribers with NIN from December 30, 2020, to January 19, 2021, while giving a six weeks’ extension for subscribers without NIN from December 30, 2020, to February 9, 2021.
Adegoke was quoted to have said: “The information is incorrect. We have linked our data with BVN. People need to come to our office to register. If you have not registered with NIMC, go to our centres and register.
“Truly, we have harmonised our data with some BVN data. But it is an incomplete process until you register with NIMC. if you don’t register with NIMC, efforts to generate your NIN will show record not found.
“For people not to have their lines cut off, they should disregard the message and register appropriately.”
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