There
was a mild drama yesterday when the Minister of Communication
Technology, Adebayo Shittu, distanced the ministry from the negotiation
deal which culminated in the payment of N50bn by MTN Nigeria Limited
instead of N1.04trn fine imposed on the telecommunications giant by the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for SIM deactivation defaults.
Also, the Minister of Justice and
Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), denied
entering any agreement so far with MTN over the fine.
The revelations were made yesterday
before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Telecommunications on the heels of the payment of N50bn by MTN to the
Federal Government as against as the actual fine imposed on it by the
NCC.
The Committee had summoned both
ministers, the executive vice chairman of NCC, Prof. Garba Dambatta, and
the chief executive officer of MTN over the circumstances surrounding
the payment of N50bn by MTN and an alleged offensive letter earlier
written to the lawmakers by the MTN CEO.
But the MTN CEO earlier apologised to the committee members and consequently withdrawn the letter as demanded by the lawmakers.
“I will like to say categorically that
MTN and I takes this body in high esteem. And I apologise wholeheartedly
for not attending the previous meeting. I withdraw the letter the
committee is referring to. I beg for your forgiveness,” he said.
For his part, Shittu told the lawmakers
that he only got to know about the matter through a letter dated
February 3, 2016 addressed to him, Finance Minister and the
Accountant-General of the Federation on the settlement proposal by MTN.
Credit: Leadership
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