Pages

Thursday 21 April 2016

No new MTN talks until Reps probe ends Minister

Hope of an early resolution of the controversy surrounding the deadline for the payment of a $3.9bn fine slammed against MTN dimmed on Wednesday as the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, said the planned new talks with the telecommunication firm would be delayed until after the probe by the House of Representatives.

Last month, the House of Representatives had launched a probe into whether Nigeria could reduce the fine, which originally amounted to $5.2bn.  The fine was for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered SIM card users.

In December, telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communication Commission had cut the fine to $3.9bn.

The probe has hindered efforts by MTN to launch new talks aimed at getting the fine reduced further.

A report by Reuters on Wednesday quoted Shittu as saying, “As soon as the ongoing (parliamentary) investigations are concluded, we will sit down with them (MTN).”

The House launched its investigation after MTN angered lawmakers by snubbing an invitation to its Nigeria’s Chief Executive Ferdi Moolman to appear at the telecoms committee, according to MPs.

MTN had offered in March to pay $1.5bn, according to a document seen by Reuters. And it dropped a legal case against the regulator as the first step in its efforts to reach an out of court settlement.

Last year, Nigeria imposed a deadline on mobile operators to cut off unregistered SIM cards, which MTN missed, amid fears the lines were being used by criminal gangs, including militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The post No new MTN talks until Reps probe ends – Minister appeared first on AfrikMouth.



from AfrikMouth http://ift.tt/1MJWKoh
via JimiVaey

No comments:

Post a Comment