Large crowds on Monday gathered at the Alausa office of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Lagos in a bid to register and obtain the National Identity Number as the country continues to battle with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, this month issued a two-week ultimatum to all telecommunications operators in the country to block all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) without National Identification Number (NIN).
The Monday rush is not unconnected to the ultimatum as Nigerians attempt to register for the NIN and beat the federal government’s deadline for SIM deactivation.
The House of Representatives has asked the NCC to extend the two-week ultimatum to ten weeks but the Commission is yet to make a public reversal of its notice as of Monday.
The Lagos state government on Friday announced a slew of COVID-19 restrictions.
Although there was no blanket ban on public gatherings of people under 300, a minimum of two meters’ distance between seated or standing guests is required.
On Sunday, Nigeria recorded 501 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 3 deaths.
According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), not less than 78,434 persons have contracted the virus while 68,303 persons have been discharged, with 1,221 persons dead.
The agency has said a maximum of 50 people are allowed in an enclosed space provided distancing rules are followed.
“Outdoor gatherings are preferred; all attendees must wash or sanitise their hands before and after attendance and physical distancing and wearing of face masks must be adhered to for all attendees,” it said.
The Nigerian government had last week issued an ultimatum to all telecommunications operators in the country to block all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) without National Identification Number (NIN).
It also ordered the network operators to ask all their subscribers to provide valid NIN to update their records and suspend SIM registration.
