According to the report, this comes just days after South African President, Jacob Zuma, visited Nigeria during which he reportedly made the case for a renegotiation between the South African telcom giant and the NCC.
Back in October 2015, the Nigerian Communications Commission had fined MTN for failing to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered subscribers on its network. The fine stood, at the time, at a monumental $5.2 billion USD.
While MTN has offered to pay $1.5 billion USD to settle the fine, Hon. Sajeed Fijabi, of the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications, has insisted that MTN Nigeria pay the fine in full instead of a reduced rate.
Fijabi said: “There is nowhere in the law that says there is room for reduction. If you are reducing this now, what will happen to Glo and others? I see MTN going to court every time as a way to circumvent the law. In the US, British Petroleum paid the full fine for the oil spill (in the Gulf of Mexico). Somebody is not allowing you to handle this matter the way you should. After you had imposed the fine, somebody is negotiating and reducing it. You imposed the fine, you should take the lead in negotiations, but now you are being sidelined. You imposed the N1.04 trillion fine, and we at the National Assembly have already projected that amount as part of federal government’s revenue.”
IT News Africa