NIA welcomes extension of deadline for SIM card re-registration

The National Identification Authority is pleased with the extension of the re-registration exercise by the Ministry of Communications.

According to NIA, the extension provides the authority with sufficient time to issue outstanding cards to applicants.

Government had earlier set March 31 as the deadline for the ongoing SIM re-registration exercise.

Stakeholders had called for an extension of the date following the chaos recorded at some centres and the struggle by some Ghanaians to secure their Ghana cards.

In an interview with Citi News, the head of Corporate Affairs at NIA, Abdul Ganiyu Abudu, assured of the authority’s resolve to ensure all applicants receive their Ghana cards.

“In terms of our operational plan, we have been transitioning our services gradually. If we are currently doing replacements in the regional offices, we will soon introduce same at the district offices.”

“The 4-month extension will give us ample time to put these operational and technical arrangements into place. Obviously, it eases the pressure on everyone. NIA is going to work very hard within the time frame to ensure that about 100% of Ghanaians have been captured,” he added.

The Communications Ministry on Tuesday announced an extension of the deadline for all SIM cards to be reregistered.

In a statement, the ministry said the fact that many Ghanaians were yet to acquire their Ghana Card, which is the sole identification card for the purpose of the registration, made it difficult for them to complete the registration process before the March 31 deadline.

It said other challenges during the exercise confirmed that the deadline cannot be met by many people, hence the need for the deadline to be extended.