New Minister of Communication Gives Hint of Hope for MTN's Fine...See Details

 

The New Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu has said Nigeria does not want MTN to quit the country because of a $5.2 billion fine imposed last month.

 

As the deadline for payment of the fine draws closer, indications emerged that MTN might have the fine reduced as the minister said: “Nobody wants MTN to die. Nobody wants MTN to shut down.”

 

Many have speculated that his sympathetic stance will see the huge fine imposed on MTN to be reduced as Shittu also gave indication that things will be sorted out before the deadline.

 

“A judgment has been given, as it were, and the period for enforcement has not yet passed,” Shittu, who was newly sworn-in as Communications Minister this week, told Reuters in an interview.

 

MTN was fined $5.2 billion for failing to disconnect 5.2million unregistered lines as directed by Nigerian Communications Commission.

 

The company has sent top executives to Abuja to try to negotiate a way out, and Shittu stressed the ball remained in MTN’s court. When asked to comment on the progress of the talks, he said there was “nothing before me”.

 

“If any new thing would happen, there must be initiative from concerned quarters,” he said. “It is up to MTN.”

 

The fine has the potential to escalate into a trade or diplomatic spat with South Africa, the continent’s other pre-eminent economic heavyweight, although Pretoria has so far played down the risk of wider fallout.

 

When asked about the consequences of non-payment, Shittu said the law would be followed. He did not give details but insisted: “We don’t want them to leave.”

 

Nigeria has been pushing telecom operators to verify the identity of subscribers due to concerns that unregistered SIM cards are being used for criminal activity or even by Boko Haram militants waging an Islamist insurgency in the northeast.