Government Orders Cancellation Of N20 National Identification Number Retrieval Charges

The Nigerian government has ordered the cancellation of N20 fee for the retrieval of National Identification Number (NIN) on mobile networks.

NIMC USSD service to retrieve NIN usually attracts a N20 fee which is deducted from the phone credit balance after dialing *346#.

Isa Ali Pantami, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, on Friday, gave the directive which takes effect immediately.

A statement signed by the spokesperson for the Minister, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, said the directive was aimed at making the process easier and affordable.

"By this waiver, all Nigerians, subscribers and applicants can access the service using the *346# code for their NIN retrieval at no charge for the duration of the NIN/SIM Card integration exercise," he said.

The government had earlier directed that NIN be integrated with Subscriber Identification Modules for security purposes.

It also licensed 173 centres and 30 state government institutions to conduct enrolment of all persons, including legal residents into the National Identity Database (NIDB).