Nigeria didn’t register 3million new mobile telephony subscribers Q1 2021 ─NCC

*The Nigerian Communications Commission has clarified the inaccuracy of a recent media report stating that the West African country recorded 3million new mobile lines in the 1st Quarter of 2021

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said disputed a recent media report purporting that the mobile telephony subscriptions in Nigeria grew by 3,000,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2021.

The NCC noted that the suspension of the registration of new subscribers became effective from December 9, 2020, and was yet in force till May 2021 when the authorities lifted the ban.

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs at NCC, in a statement Thursday, July 8 said the Ericsson Mobility Report cited in the online publication was essentially a forecast of trends based on Ericsson’s analysis.

The statement said that did not refer to the Commission, or any official channel as source for its data and/or projections.

It is, therefore, inaccurate that Nigeria recorded 3million new lines in the 1st Quarter of 2021 as stated in the media report, said the telecoms regulatory agency.

Dr. Adinde stated: “We wish to use this opportunity to clarify that the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics are the only authoritative sources of authentic data on the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

Indeed, the Commission is well aware of the critical need to make accurate and up-to-date data available to all stakeholders.

“Indeed, as a matter of corporate policy and consistent with international best practice, relevant data and statistics on the industry are transparently reported and regularly updated on the Commission’s Web site (<https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview >) for free use by interested Stakeholders.”

The telecoms regulator also encourages all stakeholders to visit its Web site for authentic data on the sector and to refer all doubts to its Public Affairs Department to avoid unnecessary controversy and/or inadvertently misleading other stakeholders who may rely on such reports.

The Commission urges stakeholders to disregard any information on subscriber data different from those presented in the Commission’s Web site.

It is recalled that the Nigerian Government Thursday, April 15, 2020, announced that it had approved the activation of new SIM card registration with mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) linking in the country.

Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant (Information Technology) to the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, in a statement had said that “the implementation of the policy will commence on Monday, 19th of April 2021.

The issuance of new SIMs and other suspended activities will resume on the same date, as long as verification is done and the guidelines are fully adhered to.”

Adeluyi also stated that the Minister has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure that the provisions of the policy were strictly followed by all operators and subscribers in the country’s mobile telephony ecosystem.

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