Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, has said 51 million Nigerians have enrolled for the National Identification Number (NIN) scheme.

Pantami also said a total of 189 million Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards have been registered and linked to individuals’ NIN.

The minister made this known at the weekly State House Press Briefing at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

He, however, noted that out of the 189 million SIM registration, only 150 million have complete registrations while the remainder has problems of improper registration.

He explained that NIN will determine the total number of Nigerians that have registered.

Pantami warned that those yet to obtain their NIN to do so, saying it is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for any Nigerian to transact business like open a bank account, pay taxes among others without having NIN.

He said while owning a SIM card is optional, the NIN is mandatory as a lot of transactions are not supposed to be carried out without NIN.

He said Nigerians without NIN risked 14 years imprisonment as stipulated by the constitution.

The Federal Government had extended the deadline for NIN registration from 9 February to 6 April