Babatunde Akpeji, Special Assistant to the Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Sunday Dare, who represented his principal at the Maidugu Guest Palace Hotel, Gombe venue of the event, stated that every registered SIM Card must be traceable to a specific registration agent as the Commission still receives reports on the existence of pre-registered SIM cards.
He informed the audience that part of the objectives of the workshop was to discuss with the Mobile Network Operators and other relevant stakeholders on how to surmount the challenges of dealing on preregistered SIM cards.
Similarly, Efosa Idehen, NCC's Director of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, represented by Salisu Abdu, Head of Enforcement, in a paper titled: “Dangers of Dealing on Fraudulently Activated SIM Cards,” emphasised that there would be difficulty in investigating kidnapping, armed robbery, financial fraud and other crimes committed except SIM cards are appropriately registered.
Other presentations focused on the provisions of Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulation (2011); Processes and Procedures for SIM Registration; and Overview of the SIM Registration Backend. These presentations explicated SIM registration infractions and the attendant sanctions, the procedures for registration, and the processes of cleaning up the biometric data respectively.
As experienced in other geopolitical zones, the seminar at Gombe was well-attended and provided opportunity for telecom consumers to engage the presenters and seek clarifications on various issues with respect to telecommunication in Nigeria.