Banks and telecommunication companies (telcos) have expressed frustration over disruption to their services triggered by continuous downtime on the NIN verification portal.

The downtime to the NIN Verification platform which started the previous week, had persisted over the weekend in spite of assurance by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) that the problem had been resolved.

As a result of the NIN verification downtime, banks reported having challenges linking new account holders to their NINs, while Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are similarly unable to link customers’ SIM cards to their NIN records.

The problem has also affected the Nigerian Immigration Service, delaying passport processing for applicants who cannot complete the required verification steps.

Speaking anonymously on the negative impact of the development on the banking industry, the CEO of a prominent e-payment company based in Lagos, told Vanguard: “NIN verification or something has been down since last week. No activation of SIM cards nationwide. Is this not critical national infrastructure or it is just Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.

“We are currently piloting our smart mobility system and service in Enugu. We are unable to activate our 4G communication nodes in each of our vehicles. We’ve been stuck and unfortunately there are no alternative networks that one can use.

“Our only options are to borrow SIM cards and do dry runs. The telcos have not been able to activate SIM cards, a situation they attribute to the breakdown of the NIN verification portal.”

A visit by Vanguard correspondent to several banks in Abuja confirmed that many institutions are still grappling with the verification backlog. At a branch of Guaranty Trust Bank in Wuse 2, a staff of the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity acknowledged that the problem has persisted since last week, leaving many customers unable to open new accounts or access their existing services.

“Yes, we have been having serious challenges with NIN verification since last week. We can’t open new accounts or even access some customers’ accounts because of this issue. Our work has slowed down significantly,” the staff member said. “Those in charge need to resolve this urgently because it’s affecting people and the economy negatively.”

Similarly, at Zenith Bank in the Federal Secretariat, customers were observed waiting in queues in anticipation of service restoration. Staff there confirmed the ongoing challenges, saying, “Since last week, NIN verification has remained a big issue. We don’t know when they will address it, but the sooner the better. This is not only affecting us, but also our customers whose livelihoods depend on our services.”

However, not all banks reported difficulties. At Access Bank in the Federal Secretariat, staff said their operations had been largely unaffected. “There may be issues with NIN verification elsewhere, but we have been opening new accounts since morning without problems today,” said Precious, a staff member at the branch.

In the telecommunications sector, service providers also confirmed disruptions. At an MTN office on Lagos Street in Garki 2, staff member Mariam Yusuf explained that their inability to verify NINs had stalled SIM registration and linkage since last week. “We have been facing this problem since last week and there is still no solution.

“NIMC said they are working on it but we have not seen any results. This is the same situation for other service providers,” she added. The story was not different in Globacom and Airtel offices also in Abuja.

Amid growing public frustration, NIMC has urged Nigerians to use an alternative verification method known as Tokenisation. This process, designed to enhance data privacy and security, allows certain services to verify a user’s identity without directly exposing their NIN.

However, adoption remains sketchy. Many institutions and users are unaware of the option or uncertain how to implement the novel solutions.

NIMC’s response

While efforts to reach NIMC’s official spokesperson, Dr. Kayode Adegoke, was unsuccessful, a NIMC staff member who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said, “We have ongoing technical issues in our system,” one staff member told Vanguard on condition of anonymity.

However, NIMC in a statement on Friday said it has completed the technical maintenance exercise that caused disruption to services, and therefore had restored services to relieve millions of citizens and organisations reliant on the system.

The announcement from NIMC read in part: “We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of Nigerians as we worked to ensure a swift return to normalcy,”

Vanguard investigation however revealed that contrary to the claim of routine maintenance, NIMC had actually changed its former software vendor to a new one, mandating the telecom operators to automatically switch over to the new platform without prior consultation. A few telcos who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said the NIMC action was like an ambush and really set their operations back.

“In a sane clime, before this kind of thing happens, both the telcos and the banks should be put on notice early enough and the reason for dropping one vendor to another should be made explicit and if there are inputs, we can make. But, here, we were like being mandated to accept Bluesalt-the new vendor, whether we like it or not; and that is not good,” one of the telcos told Vanguard.

Confirming the above development, the umbrella body of the telcos, the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators in Nigeria, ALTON, issued a statement, clarifying that the frustrations subscribers were going through in completing transactions ranging from replacing lost SIM cards or activating new ones was not the fault of the telcos but that of NIMC due to a touted technical maintenance exercise.

Part of the statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Publicity secretary of the association, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo and Damian Udeh respectively stated: “The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) wishes to inform the general public, our valued subscribers, and all stakeholders of a temporary disruption affecting SIM-related services across all mobile networks in Nigeria.

“This disruption follows a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), mandating our Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) members to transition to a new identity verification platform. The migration process, which directly impacts real-time identity verification required for SIM registration, SIM replacement, Mobile Number Portability (MNP), and other related services, has introduced unforeseen technical challenges that are currently affecting service availability nationwide.

“While the new platform is intended to enhance the integrity and efficiency of identity management in Nigeria, unfortunately, the transition has temporarily impacted the ability of MNOs to deliver seamless SIM-related services.

“During this period, MNOs will not be able to support SIM Swap, SIM replacement, activation of new subscribers and other SIM-related services. We understand the inconvenience this may cause to millions of subscribers who depend on these services for communication, business, and daily activities. We sincerely apologize for the disruption and kindly advise subscribers to postpone visits to service centers for SIM-related transactions until further notice.

ALTON will continue to provide timely updates as the situation evolves, and remains committed to ensuring the delivery of secure, reliable, and high-quality telecommunications services to all Nigerians”. (Vanguard)