Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it will not yield to pressure to reduce the $5.2bn fined imposed on mobile phone giant MTN.
The communications regulator’s spokesman Tony Ojobo stated that MTN Nigeria was in breach of a slew of regulations with 28 infractions.
MTN has a deadline of November 16 to pay the fine after it failed to deactivate 5.2 million unregistered SIM cards – considered a security threat as militant Islamist group Boko Haram uses mobile phones to co-ordinate its operations in the West African state.
The South African-owned company’s shareholders have described the fine as punitive.
MTN was said to be in talks with the regulator and the government to reduce the fine – the biggest ever imposed by Nigeria for violations in the telecom sector.
Mr Ojobo noted that Nigeria’s four mobile phone service providers signed an agreement that set the fines in 2011 and MTN was the only company not to comply.
Meanwhile, South Africa hopes that talks between Nigeria and MTN over the $5.2bn fine imposed on the mobile phone giant “will bear fruit”, government minister Jeff Radebe said.
He said the cabinet had “noted” the dispute involving the South African-owned company, but was not involved in talks with the Nigerian government to resolve it.
“Obviously, as government, we are concerned about this matter so we do hope that those talks between MTN and the Nigerian authorities will bear fruit,” he said.
Nigeria’s Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, a corporate lawyer, is leading the Nigerian team negotiating with MTN executives from South Africa.
The fine is over MTN’s failure to register SIM cards, used by militant Islamists and criminal gangs which demand ransom.
Tony Ojobo, the spokesman for the Nigerian Communications Commission, confirmed earlier Global Patriot Newspapers reports that unregistered MTN SIM cards were used to make calls demanding ransom in the September kidnapping of former Finance Minister Olu Falae.
MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng said the company is above board in its dealings with Nigeria.
“MTN is committed to engaging with authorities in Nigeria … (adhering) to the highest principles of sound corporate governance and transparency,” Mr Maroleng said.
