Nigeria, April 28 -- The House of Representatives has urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to extend the timeframe for reassigning inactive phone numbers to new users to 18 months.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Billy Osawaru, who represents Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency in Edo State, during plenary on Tuesday.

In his proposal, Mr Osawaru recommended that an additional six-month window be introduced before dormant SIM cards are reassigned. Within that period, telecom operators would be required to publicly announce numbers slated for reallocation in national newspapers and notify law enforcement agencies once or twice a year.

The lawmaker said the measure is aimed at strengthening co...