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| Mr Adebayo Shittu |
Mr
Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications has disclosed that the $5.2billion
fine slammed on telecommunication giant, MTN, was reduced to encourage foreign
investments into the country.
Shittu
disclosed this on Sunday in Ibadan at an award ceremony in honour of Chief
Lekan Balogun, the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland.
He
said that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) decided to reduced the penalty
against the telecommunications giant after realising the negative impact the
burden could have on the nation, its people and the economy.
The
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had slammed a $5. 2 billion fine on
MTN for violating the directive of the regulatory body in Nigeria.
The
NCC had directed all telecom providers in the country to register subscribers
and disconnect erring subscribers but which MTN could not meet.
MTN,
having failed was fined $1,000 per each of its 5.2 million affected
subscribers, totaling $5.2 billion.
He
said that there were pressures on FEC from different quarters, which later
agreed to reduce the fine imposed on MTN to N330 billion to be paid within a
period of three years.
“As
far as we are concerned, the MTN issue is a closed matter.
“Nigeria
as a country must move on. We must not do anything to drive away foreign
investors.
Foreign investments are potent means of bringing about development
and wealth creation,” he said.
Shittu
said that the people must not forget that there were less than 500,000
telephone lines before the telecom operators came on board.
According
to him, “Nigeria now has more than 152 million lines and MTN is the dominant
operator in the field. It controls almost 50 percent of the lines.
“Though,
MTN violated the law and we had to penalise it. We must put a halt to the
limitless crisis so that we don’t discourage foreign investors.
“That
is what the Federal Executive Council has done to ensure we move ahead. We know
for instance, that MTN operates in 22 countries.
“What
it realises in Nigeria alone is more than what it realises in the other 21
countries put together,” he said.
Shittu
advised the telecoms operators against taking Nigeria and their customers for
granted, warning that all infractions would be appropriately sanctioned.
“The
operators owe a duty to Nigerians to continue to improve on their services.
Nigerians have been paying through thick and thin to patronize them.
“To
whom much is given, much is expected,” he said.
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