NCC reaffirms 25 percent MTN fine reduction

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has officially said that the agreed amount for MTN’s fine, imposed in October 2015, as a result of the 5.1 million improperly registered SIM cards is now N780b Naira.

This amount was arrived at, as a result of an agreed 25 percent reduction of the initial N1.04 trillion Naira fine.

Tony Ojobo, Director of Public Affairs at Ncc, said:

“When MTN’s wrote to the NCC pleading for leniency, the stake holders looked at it with a view to all the pros and cons and because of the fact that MTN had accepted that there was an infraction, there was a decision to give them a 25 percent discount. The 35 percent was not the correct figure. It was an error. The waiver is actually 25 percent which translates to N780 billion and the letter has been communicated to MTN,” he said.

MTN Group corporate affairs issued a release earlier today which stated that although the NCC had initially sent MTN a letter that it had taken the decision to reduce the fine imposed on the MTN Nigerian business from the original N1,040,000,000,000 (One trillion, forty billion Naira) to 674 billion Naira, a reduction of 35% of the original fine which had to be paid by December, 31, 2015, a second letter which was stated to supersede the first letter was sent which informed the Company that the fine had actually been reduced by 25% to 780 Billion Naira and not by 35% to 674 Billion Naira, as was stated in the first Letter. The payment date remained the same.

MTN was also clear to state that, neither the first letter nor the second setter sets out any details on how the reduction was determined.”

Ojobo clarified the issues surrounding the details of reduction, saying that;

“At the time MTN wrote to the NCC, acknowledging their breach and pleading leniency, the NCC board had not been constituted and the industry did not have a Minister yet, so the authority of the President was required for such a decision to be taken in the absence of a board and that is why the commission had to notify the Presidency about what happened.”

“We are aware of MTN’s contribution to Nigeria, they also have the largest number of subscribers, and the Nigerian market is their biggest market. We have taken all of that into consideration, that is why there was even a discussion in the first place, because ideally when there is a sanction, it should not be reviewed, you should pay.”

He further added that, “the regulator has discretionary powers to take a decision based on the interest of the public and best practice.

When asked if the commission considered the fine too heavy for the operator, as MTN has said that they will be engaging in further talks with the authorities, Ojobo said;

“A breach is a breach regardless of the amount. In 2011 when the decision was reached on the guidelines for SIM card deactivation, all stakeholders agreed that this was something needful for us to do in the light of the security challenges in the country. There was need for a penalty that will be a disincentive for anyone operating in this environment.

“ If the penalty is too low, then people can just go ahead and have infraction and keep paying the penalty. So that is how we arrived at the decision to make it N200,000 as the penalty for any SIM card that was discovered to be improperly registered and still active on any network.

“Knowing how stiff this penalty was at the time, we did not expect that any operator will flout it because of the consequences so therefore we were really shocked when it was discovered, what we saw at MTN.”

MTN says it is “carefully considering both letters and the company’s Executive Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko will immediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerian Authorities before responding formally, as it is essential for the Company to follow due process to ensure the best outcome for the Company, its stakeholders and the Nigerian Authorities, and accordingly all factors having a bearing on the situation will be thoroughly and carefully considered before the Company arrives at a final decision.

However, Ojobo told select journalists that the commission is giving MTN only two weeks to respond before necessary further actions would be taken. 

Initially when we communicate, we give two weeks for response and then after that we can take the necessary action. The response will either be, ok we will pay or whatever else. But the important thing is that the letter has been communicated and we are awaiting response of MTN,” he said.

 

Jumoke Akiyode

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