The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATS), has kicked against the plan by the Federal Government to introduce a suite of digital tokens to enhance the verification of the National Identity Number, effective January next year.
According to the Federal Government, the digital token consisting of 16 alphabets and numbers will be accepted for third-party verification, instead of the 11-digit NIN.
The development has, however, generated mixed reactions from Nigerians with many opposing the government plan.
According to the President of NATS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, the move was uncalled for, and shouldn’t be implemented without proper consultation with stakeholders.
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He said, “Why can’t the FG engage stakeholders before coming up with this plan? It is a serious policy and they didn’t even engage stakeholders. Why can’t we do that?
“Until they discuss with all relevant stakeholders, and we look at the merits and demerits; they can’t impose this on us.”
Ogunbanjo recalled the development was coming barely a year after the Federal Government mandated citizens to link their SIMs to their NINs within a short period, forcing many Nigerians to besiege registration centers.
