N1.04TN FINE: MTN Pays N50bn, Withdraws Suit Against NCC

MTN Nigeria had made a payment of N50billion albeit as a part payment to the Federal Government in view of resolving the fine of N1.04tn imposed on it by the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC over its failure to meet the deadline to deregister subscribers on its network who defaulted to register their SIM cards within the specified period..

Following the default, the regulatory body earlier imposed a $5.2bn fine but subsequently reduced it to $3.9bn following an appeal from MTN, and finally ended at the present figure. The guideline SIM card registration had specified that that allowing an unregistered subscriber on a telecommunications network beyond the stipulated deadline would attract a penalty of N200, 000 which the largest GSM services provider admittedly defaulted.

Confirming the payment yesterday in Abuja, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications, Victor Oluwadamidare, reportedly stated that the acknowledgement was necessary in pursuit of transparency which is a key principle in the present administration.

He added that the suit instituted against the Commission and the federal government has also been withdrawn for amicable resolution of the matter as earlier ruled by the Minister that negotiation doors are absolutely closed until the suit is withdrawn from the court.

“They have withdrawn the court case instituted against the Federal Government and the NCC and requested for further negotiations. This, the government, is willing to grant. You cannot stop listening to people.

“This clarification became necessary in view of the promise we made to keep Nigerians aware of what is happening as soon the information is available”, Oluwadamidare said.