$5.2bn fine: Senate to invite NCC, MTN next week

The Senate will next week invite the nation’s telecoms industry regulator – the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and industry operator, MTN Nigeria, over the $5.2billion (N1.4trillion) fine slammed on the operator by the NCC over unregistered SIM cards.

This comes as investors wait for President Muhammadu Buhari to decide MTN’s fate.

Adebayo Shittu, the new Minister of Communications had told Technology Times in Lagos that final decision on the N1.4trillion fine imposed on MTN Nigeria, would be taken by President Buhari at the appropriate time and “in public interest”.

On 26 October 2015, the MTN Group was fined $5.2 billion by the NCC for failing to disconnect 5.2million unregistered SIM cards. This led to the resignation of the MTN group’s Chief Executive Officer, Sifiso Dabengwa this month.

In an exclusive interview with BusinessDay in Abuja on Wednesday, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, chairman, Senate Committee on Communications , revealed that the Committee would invite all the parties concerned next week.

The meeting, Nnaji said, would

be the first interface of the Committee with stakeholders since its inauguration.

Nnaji said the fine imposed on MTN by the NCC is in order, and that it is the only way to deter other service providers who contravene the NCC Act.

“We are aware of the face-off between MTN and NCC. The Committee will soon invite both parties so that they will come and brief the committee on the issue. So far, none of them has come. But by next week, we are going to invite them.

“We have not discussed anything based on the fact that the Committee has just been inaugurated. It is going to be the first thing that we are going to do, due to the fact that it will affect the economy of the nation and to make sure that no service provider is being threatened to move out of the country
or to shut down their businesses. So, the Committee will soon invite them by next week”, Nnaji who represents Enugu East, in the National Assembly, informed BusinessDay.

Nigeria is MTN group’s largest market and it had over 62.8 million subscribers here by the second quarter of 2015.

On whether the Committee supports staggered or bulk payment of the fine, the senator declined comment. He said the Communications Committee would first hear from both parties before taking a position in that regard.

He also disclosed that the governments of Nigeria and South Africa are still discussing the matter.

His said: “Both the Nigerian and South African governments are still discussing about it. But the Committee will like to know the positions of the two groups. We will hear from the NCC that is representing the Federal Government and also hear from the service provider, MTN”.