In a case of shifting goal posts, the NCC initially fined MTN Nigeria $1,005 for each unregistered subscriber totaling to $5.2 billion but a 25% fine reprieve after appeals meant MTN only had to pay $3.4 billion. The NCC immediately increased this bill to $3.8 billion (35% reduction of the $5.1 billion) blaming the hike on a typing error.
House of Representatives interpretation
Nigerian lawmakers in the House of Representatives now say the fine imposed by the NCC and the subsequent reduction following MTN Nigeria’s leniency appeal was not in accordance with stipulated laws. Hon. Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma was quoted by Nigerian online newspaper ThisDayLive. He said: “MTN ought to have been fined under both Section 19 and Section 20 respectively with a cumulative penalty of N3.12 trillion, and not N1.04 trillion, which is a gross violation of the combined reading of the NCC Act.”
Political backlash
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari met with South African President in Nigeria on 8th March 2016 to sign ‘over 30 bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding’ according to reports by Nigeria’s Vanguard e-paper. Jacob Zuma promised to return Nigeria’s confiscated arms purchase funds seized by the South African government in a move widely seen as an attempt to smooth over frosted relations between the two countries. There have been calls to persecute MTN Nigeria for the role Nigerian lawmakers and the President claim MTN played in the death of an estimated 10,000 people at the hands of the notorious rebel outfit, Boko Haram. The unregistered SIM cards are claimed to have been used by the rebels to communicate without a trace as they carried out their deadly attacks.
MTN Nigeria Marketshare
MTN shares dipped 20% in 2015 following the NCC directive and another 10% last week following speculation of the $15.6 billion fine despite assurances. MTN CEO, Ferdinand Moolman angered the lawmakers when he declined to honour a summons by Nigeria’s House of Representatives Telecommunications Committee to discuss more on the issue.
Other MTN Group fines
MTN Uganda was fined $662,000 in 2015 for sabotaging competition and another 5 billion Uganda shillings ($1.5 million) in a separate case for breach and non compliance with the directive as per section 41 (1) (a) and section 41 (2) (b) of the Uganda Communications Act. MTN’s repeated defiance was in particular the directive to desist from using short codes 157,169, 178, and 183. Read more South Africa based MTN Group is the 8th biggest mobile network in the world with 227.5 million subscribers as of March 2015. In Africa, Nigeria (62.5m), South Africa (28m), Ghana (15m) and Uganda (8.9m) contribute the most to its subscriber base. MTN has invested millions of dollars in sports development and charitable initiatives in Africa. Featured Image: TimesLIVE
