The Federal Government of Nigeria
said yesterday that the Mobile Carrier, MTN must pay substantial part of the
N780billion fine imposed on it for Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration
guideline infractions before any out of court settlement could be honoured.
The Minister of Communications and
Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, said the telecommunication company violated
extant laws for which it accepted responsibility and wrote a letter of apology,
promising to be a responsible corporate citizen.
The infractions were committed under
the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration, which, according to Shittu, looked
the other way. It took the courage of the government to apply the law, he said.
MTN begged for a revision of the
sanction, “which Mr. President graciously acceded to”, but the company turned
around to say it had no money to pay.
The minister said the government
replied, asking MTN to write a letter stating why it will go down after paying
the fine and attaching a statement of its account so that the government will
realise the dangers the payment will constitute to its financial health.
Shittu said he received a call from
the firm informing him that it was going to court.
He said since the matter is now
before the court, the government will wait for the court’s decision.
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