The minister of communications Adebayo Shittu Thursday confirmed the MTN Nigeria’s down payment of N50 billion out of the N780bn fine slammed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for regulatory infractions.
MTN on Wednesday said it had paid N50bn out of the N780bn, and had also withdrawn the suit it brought against NCC. But the government said Wednesday the government was yet to receive the payment.
In a statement Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on media, Victor Oluwadamilare, the minister said officials had communicated to him the receipt of N50bn payment by MTN.
“It has been confirmed that MTN Nigeria had indeed paid the said N50bn as a down payment of the N780bn fine, and had also withdrawn the court case against NCC. It made the payment pending further negotiation on the fine issue. We shall further inform Nigerians as the negotiation progresses,” the statement said.
MTN was fined N1.04 trillion last October by NCC for failure to disconnect 5.1 million improperly registered lines within the prescribed deadline.
The fine was adjusted by 25% to N780bn by the federal government, but MTN still considered that inimical to the survival of its business.
