Why FG Reduced MTN Fine – Minister

The Federal Government has
explained that the reason it
reduced the $5.2billion fine
slammed on MTN Nigeria was to
encourage foreign investments in
the country.
The Minister of Communications,
Adebayo Shittu, made the
disclosure on Sunday in Ibadan, the
Oyo State capital at an award
ceremony in honour of Lekan
Balogun, the Otun Olubadan of
Ibadanland.
According to the minister, the
Federal Executive Council, FEC,
took cognizance of the negative
impact the burden of paying the
record fine would have had on the
nation, its people and the economy
at arriving at the decision to
reduce the penalty.
The Nigerian Communications
Commission, NCC, last October
slammed the fine on the
telecommunications giant for
violating the directive of the
regulatory body in Nigeria.
MTN Nigeria was accused of
disobeying the NCC’s directive to
all telecoms service providers in
the country to register subscribers
and disconnect erring subscribers.
After repeated warnings to comply
with its directive was ignored, at
the expiration of the deadline the
regulatory body gave to all telecoms
service providers, MTN Nigeria was
handed a $1,000 fine for each of
the 5.2 million unregistered
subscribers on its network, which it
failed to disconnect, totaling $5.2
billion (N1.04 trillion at the time).
Mr. Shittu said there was pressure
on the FEC from different quarters,
which later agreed to reduce the
fine imposed on MTN to N330
billion to be paid within a period of
three years.
“As far as we are concerned, the
MTN issue is a closed matter.
“Nigeria as a country must move
on. We must not do anything to
drive away foreign investors.
Foreign investments are potent
means of bringing about
development and wealth creation”,
he said.
The minister said that people must
not forget that there were less than
500,000 telephone lines before the
telecom operators came on board.
According to him, “Nigeria now has
more than 152 million lines and
MTN is the dominant operator in
the field. It controls almost 50 per
cent of the lines.
“Though, MTN violated the law and
we had to penalise it. We must put
a halt to the limitless crisis so that
we don’t discourage foreign
investors.
“That is what the Federal Executive
Council has done to ensure we
move ahead.
“We know for instance, that MTN
operates in 22 countries.
“What it realises in Nigeria alone is
more than what it realises in the
other 21 countries put together”, he
added.
Mr. Shittu also advised the telecoms
operators against taking Nigeria
and their customers for granted,
warning that all infractions would
be appropriately sanctioned.
“The operators owe a duty to
Nigerians to continue to improve
on their services. Nigerians have
been paying through thick and thin
to patronize them.
“To whom much is given, much is
expected”, he said.
(NAN)