About two million Nigerian youths have been rendered jobless by the recent suspension of sale, registration and activation of SIM cards by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
The Arewa Telecom Operators Agents and Simcard Dealers Association (ATOASDA), made the claim while addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday.
The telecomms dealers, who noted that they were aware of the Federal Government’s intention to address security challenges through linkage of National Identity Number, (NIN), with mobile numbers and suspension of new SIM cards registration, they fear that, rendering two million youths jobless might worsen the security challenges.
Speaking on behalf of the dealers, its President, Hassan Yakubu said, “as a registered association under Corporate Affairs Commission, (CAC), we are fully in support of the FG’s measures to protect the lives and properties of the citizenry”.
He, however, observed that Government must tread carefully, considering that all available research works on the causes of insecurity across the country have been linked primarily to youth unemployment, adding that the income of the telecomms business partners, staff and the agents, majority of whom are within the age bracket 20 to 40 years in the value-chain is determined by the number of activations /SIM registration carried out within the month.
According to Yakubu, “The suspension of SIM card registration may trigger another worse form of insecurity, especially in zones most affected by the insecurity; in fact, the growth in the telecomms sector is determined by the very sub-sector that was suspended, and the much celebrated 17% contribution by the sector on the GDP was as a result of the activities of the sub-sector under suspension”.
Due to rising insecurity in the country, the Federal Government had directed NCC to suspend activation of new SIM cards so as to allow an audit of the Subscriber Registration database and to also verify and ensure compliance by Mobile Network Operators, (MNO), with the set quality standards and requirements as issued by the ministry and the Commission.
