Retrieve Your NIN via USSD Code for Free, Says Federal Government

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has ordered the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to stop charging the mandatory N20 USSD fee imposed on National Identification Number (NIN) retrieval.

The directive was after Nigerian mobile subscribers took to their social media platforms to criticize network providers for charging them N20 for retrieving their NINs.

In a statement signed by Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the directive is effective immediately to ensure Nigerians link their NINs to their SIM cards.

In a letter conveying the implementation of the directive, “the Executive Vice Chairman NCC and the Director General of NIMC informed Dr Pantami that the relevant authorities had met with, and negotiated a waiver with the mobile network operators in that regard.

“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.

“Recall that the Federal Government had earlier directed that all National Identification Numbers be integrated with Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) for security purposes.

“The minister appreciates the efforts of all stakeholders and encourages them to continue to sacrifice more for national interest,” the statement noted.

To retrieve your NIN via MTN Nigeria, Airtel Africa, Glo and 9mobile

• Dial *346#
• From the options displayed, select “NIN Retrieval”, by typing in ‘1’, if you are using the same phone number you enrolled with for your NIN
• Follow the steps displayed on your screen and provide the required inputs
• The service is now free following the latest directive mandating NIMC and NCC to stop the N20 USSD fee attached to the process.

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