Mr Adebayo Shittu, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, has said that President Buhari will make the final decision on the $5.2 billion (NGN1.04 trillion) fine imposed on MTN Nigeria by the NCC.
MTN Nigeria was fined by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in October 2015 for its failure to disconnect up to five million unregistered SIM cards on its network.
Mr. Shittu, speaking to Technology Times during the Alliance 4 Affordable Internet Nigeria Coalition conference in Lagos, said “The issue is now before Mr. President. He will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time. I think Nigerians will expect that Mr. President would do the best to ensure that the public interest is guaranteed.”
Although he did not provide further explanations, he added that the commission’s decision to fine MTN was not “a result of hatred,” but in the interest of the public.
“The good thing is that MTN did not contest the fact that they had violated the regulations and guidelines. They never contested it. They admitted they were at fault. They apologized for their role in the saga and they made a commitment that what happened will never happen again. And of course, they made a plea for review of the payment terms,” the Minister told the Vanguard.
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