NIN To SIM: PTF Again Speaks On Shutting Down NIMC Offices

The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 has again lamented over violation of its protocols against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic as citizens troop out to link their National Identification Number to their SIM cards.

The Task Force while featuring on a television programme on Tuesday, January 12 said the violation of the laid down health protocols was why they had written several letters to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, to shut down some NIMC offices.

Condemning noncompliance with the regulations, PTF National Coordinator, Sani Aliyu, said the government is not happy with the way citizens gather in large numbers at the NIMC offices across the nation.

“We’ve been working closely with NIMC and the Ministry of Communications. The issue they are having is outside their premises and we insist that those protocols be followed,” the PTF coordinator noted.

He added, “In the first instance, people are not even supposed to go to their offices until they have booked. The protocols are strictly followed inside their offices. People should not be presenting themselves without the necessary invitation; they should follow the protocols that both NIMC and the Ministry of Communications have set up.

“We are not happy with the crowds outside NIMC offices and we have reached out to the Minister of Communications and we have insisted that our protocols be followed in or outside the building and they should make sure there are enough enforcement agents to control that. In situations where they can’t enforce these rules, we have asked them to close those offices and they have been closing them.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Monday night, January 11 confirmed one thousand two hundred and forty-four (1,244) new cases of COVID-19 disease in Nigeria.

Naija News reports that the newly reported cases were recorded from 18 states of the federation.

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