NATIONAL: FG orders closure of NIMC headquarters over Covid-19

THE Federal Government has ordered the closure of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headquarters in Abuja over Covid-19 concerns.

Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, gave this order on Saturday.

The National Identity Number (NIN) enrolment exercise is expected to end in the coming days.

Large crowd have continued to gather at the NIMC offices nationwide in a bid to beat the deadline for the exercise.

The NIMC Spokesman, Kayode Adegoke, who confirmed the development to journalists, said the minister had reactivated 20 other centers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to ensure hitch-free NIN enrolment for applicants.

The centres are expected to become operational on Monday.

The FG had in December ordered Nigerians to link their Subscribers Identification Modules (SIMs) to their NINs.

The NIMC also designated several outlets in the country as NIN enrollment centres.

Subscribers with NIN are expected to link such with their SIM cards by January 19.