SIM Services Resume Nationwide as NIMC Portal Stabilizes

After weeks of service delays, telecom operators in Nigeria have resumed SIM registration, swaps, and porting, following the restoration of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) verification portal.

The disruption, which lasted over three weeks, had stalled key customer services and affected millions of subscribers across the country. The setback was linked to the migration to NINAuth, a new digital identity authentication platform introduced by NIMC to tighten data security and enforce user consent before verification.

MTN Nigeria, which leads the market with more than 90 million active lines, confirmed the development on Monday via its official handle. The telecom firm said SIM swap services were now available to most customers, while other services were being gradually restored.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience experienced. SIM swap is now back for the majority of our customers. We’re working to restore all SIM-related services,” the company stated.

Airtel Nigeria also confirmed service restoration and clarified that earlier messages suggesting the NIMC portal was still down were outdated.

“The NIMC portal is up and running. We apologise for the confusion and appreciate your patience,” Airtel said.

Industry group ALTON had earlier noted that operators encountered unforeseen technical hitches while integrating with the new platform. In a joint statement, the association said real-time NIN verification was severely affected, forcing providers to suspend key services temporarily.

The verification process under NINAuth now requires subscribers to approve identity checks directly, a departure from the background checks previously handled solely by service providers.

Investigations at service centres in Lagos revealed that SIM swaps had resumed selectively, while new registrations and number porting were still limited in some branches.