The importation of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards has been banned by the Federal Government of Nigeria according to reports.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami disclosed this on Monday in Oniru, Lagos while speaking at the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE) organized by the Nigeria Office for Developing Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Pantami said Africa’s biggest country should not be importing things that could be produced within. “Let me make it clear that the federal government will no longer tolerate the importation of sim cards. We are now producing them in Nigeria.”
“Our aim is to increase indigenous content in the ICT sector so that by 2025, we will be self-reliant by at least 80 percent”, the minister noted.
Pantami urged stakeholders and citizens to support government efforts to boost local patronage and consumption. “If we do this, history will be kind to all of us.”
Pantami had in June informed the public that the Buhari administration had established a SIM card manufacturing plant in Lagos.
