The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has maintained that MTN Nigeria must stick to today(Thursday’s) deadline given to it to pay a record N780bn fine, even after the mobile telecommunications company goes about attempting to overturn the penalty in court.
Spokesman for the NCC, Tony Ojobo, was quoted by Bloomberg as stating yesterday that “the deadline remains.”
The regulator maintained that it will consult with lawyers on what to do if the Johannesburg-based company does not pay the fine today, even though it was silent on the course of action it intends taking.
MTN is challenging the penalty at the Federal High Court in Lagos with about seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria, after it said earlier this month that the NCC didn’t have the power to impose the fine.
NCC had taken action after MTN failed to meet a deadline to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered subscribers as security agencies seek to fight crime and Islamist militants in a country with poor identity records.
Ojobo however said the regulator “will allow” the courts to do their work and the NCC is planning to challenge the MTN dispute filed in Lagos.
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