Large crowd shuns COVID-19 protocols, converge NIMC office for NIN

A large number of people on Tuesday ignored the COVID-19 protocols, essentially, the directive on social distancing, to converge at the head office of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Lagos and Abuja, for the National Identification Number (NIN) registration. The NIN seekers are anxious to meet the deadline issued by the federal government for possession of NIN and linking the same to their telephone lines with service providers or have their line barred.

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy had issued a two weeks deadline to telecommunications operators in Nigeria to block all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) not linked with National Identification Number (NIN). But protests over the short notice made the federal government review the deadline to January 29, 2021.

However, the deadline issued by the government and the high number of telephone users culminated into the gathering of a large crowd at the NIMC office for registration at a time the federal government has raised alarm of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

Most people in the crowd were noticed to be putting on face mask while majority were without face mask. The directive on social distancing was totally ignored as people struggle for space to gain entrance into the office.

Meanwhile, the federal government has two options on the table on the NIN registration deadline. One is to create several registration centres to register the millions of telephone users; the second is to extend the deadline further.

The capacity of NIMC to attend to all users from one unit is in doubt, especially, during the coronavirus phobia.