The Federal Government yesterday extended indefinitely the $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion) fine imposed on MTN Nigeria. This was communicated in a statement made available to New Telegraph by the country’s telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
NCC had set November 16 (yesterday) as the deadline for the telecoms company to pay the fine imposed on it for failing to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards on its network.
Though the telecoms firm failed to make the payment whole or in part at the deadline, the regulator, in its first official statement issued yesterday since the crisis broke out last month, said it based its decision on a plea by the telecoms company for leniency. “In a letter of November 2, 2015, MTN admitted the infraction and pleaded for leniency,” the statement, signed by NCC’s Public Affairs Director, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said. The NCC said it acknowledged the letter, but was looking into their plea without any prejudice to the fine. “The fine remains, but the appeal and other engagements with MTN may affect the payment deadline,” NCC said in the statement.
New Telegraph had reported exclusively on Monday that the operator might extend the deadline, even as the telecoms firm disclosed to our correspondent that it was not under any obligation to pay the fine yesterday, contrary to public expectations. MTN had, in a statement earlier yesterday, advised its shareholders that the Nigerian authorities have, without prejudice, agreed that the imposed fine would not be payable until the negotiations have been concluded.
The telecoms firm expressed its commitment to resolving the matter together with the NCC as soon as possible and would continue to update stakeholders of any material developments regarding the fine. Meanwhile, NCC has said that the imposition of the sanction on MTN was in the public interest and would not, in any way, deter investment inflow into the telecoms industry. Rather, the regulator said that the fine would raise the bar of industry standards and send salient message to other players on the need to do business in accordance with the laid-down laws and regulations of the country where they operate.
The Commission had set November 16 as the deadline for the telecoms company to pay the fine for failing to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards on its network. The NCC, which argued that it had acted in the public interest, said that the sanction imposed on MTN was the last resort after all overtures had failed, “but this does not, in any way, undermine industry standards and the interest of investors.”
The regulator said it did not impose the sanction as a vindictive measure, “but that the fine of N1.04 trillion on MTN Nigeria by the NCC was done in the interest of the public, which has been at the receiving end of security challenges.” Capturing the development that led to the imposition of the sanction, NCC said: “Following the sanctions placed on MTN Nigeria by NCC, members of the public have expressed diverse interests as to what actually transpired.”
It noted that the fine was as a result of violation of Section 20 (1) of the Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulation of 2011. Section 20 (1) of Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations 2011 states that, “Any licensee who activates or fails to deactivate a subscription medium in violation of any provision of these regulations is liable to a penalty of N200,000 for each unregistered but activated subscription medium.”
According to NCC, consequent upon the overwhelming evidence of non-compliance, and obvious disregard to the rule of engagement by the MTN, the NCC had no choice but to impose the sanctions. The regulator explained that MTN, in a letter of November 2, admitted the infraction and pleaded for leniency. NCC said that the MTN fine was the second within two months after the operators were given a sevenday ultimatum to deactivate all unregistered and improperly registered SIM cards, saying “while others complied, MTN did not.”
It would be recalled that four operators, MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat, were sanctioned in August for non-compliance of the directive to deactivate the improperly registered SIM cards. Consequently, MTN got a fine of N102.2 million, Globacom N7.4 million, Etisalat N7 million and Airtel N3.8 million fine.
Others complied while MTN flouted the fine. The regulator explained that based on the report of the compliance Audit Team, an Enforcement Team, which visited MTN from September 2 – 4, 2015, wherein MTN admitted that the team confirmed that 5.2 million improperly-registered SIM cards were still left active on their network, suggesting a contravention of the regulations.
