FG insists MTN must pay N780bn despite apology

The federal government of Nigeria has insisted that telecommunications giant, MTN must pay substantial part of the N780billion fine imposed on it for subscriber identity module (SIM) registration guideline infractions before any out of court settlement could be honoured.

The Minister of Communications and Technology, Adebayo Shittu, said the company violated extant laws for which it accepted responsibility and wrote a letter of apology, promising to be a responsible corporate citizen.

The minister said the government replied, asking MTN to write a letter stating why it will go down after paying the fine and attaching a statement of its account so that the government will realise the dangers the payment will constitute to its financial health.

Shittu addmited he received a call from the telco informing him that it was going sue the federal government over the fine.

According to Shittu, nobody wants MTN dead. The company violated the laws for which there are consequences, he said.

MTN was sanctioned about $5.1billion or N1.7trillion for fraudulently keeping some 5.2million pre-registered SIMs on its network “a development analysts said amounted to sabotage in view of the security challenges facing the country.”

#FG #MTN