MTN’s N50 billion, NCC and the deal Nigerians await

Just when Nigerians were looking forward to see how the fine slammed against MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would be resolved and whether there would be a deal or no deal, news came in last Thursday that the telecoms company had withdrawn its suit against the telecoms industry regulator and paid N50 billion towards an amicable resolution of the fine even as negotiations continue with the federal government.

Of course, you will recall that last October, the NCC, in a surprise but decisive move, imposed a whopping N1.04 trillion ($5.2 billion) fine on MTN for contravening its directives on SIM card registration by failing to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards on its network.

While the NCC would later reduce the fine by 25 per cent after first round of negotiations, bringing it to N780 billion, MTN, in a move many Nigerians saw as a strategy to buy some more time for itself as the December 31, 2015 deadline drew near, filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, before it withdrew this case and said it wanted an out-of-court settlement.

And although the court was yet to decide the matter, the company continued with its negotiations with the government, on how best to settle the matter without rancour until its announcement last week of its N50 billion payment.

Now, for some Nigerians who erroneously believe the N50 billion made by MTN is final, nothing can be farther from the truth.  The N50 billion payment made by the company is without prejudice to the final decision of government on the terms of payment being proposed by the company.

I find it curious; however, that the NCC initially denied knowledge of the negotiations or N50 billion payment to the government, even after the ministry of communications admitted that the money had actually been paid.

Further confounding was the admission by Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of Communications, that the ministry didn’t play any role in negotiating with MTN, or directing, or even receiving the N50 billion from the telecoms firms when he informed journalists the negotiations were strictly between MTN and Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice as the chief law officer of the federation. This was not the impression earlier given to Nigeria.

Of course, it later emerged that what MTN, through its foreign solicitors, had done was to make specific overtures directly to the federal government through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation seeking audience to discuss issues relating to the matter.

But the federal government refused granting such request informing MTN’s lawyers it was not open for any negotiation, not even an audience, until certain good faith gestures were demonstrated. This was how the N50 billion “good faith” payment by MTN thus came about, something the company alluded to in the statement it released after the payment when Ferdi Moolman, CEO of its Nigeria operations, said the N50 billion to the federal government was a gesture of “good faith and commitment to continued efforts towards an amicable resolution.”

Meanwhile, as Nigerians await news of the final deal, a team led by the attorney-general of the federation will be reviewing the conditions of the payment of the fine with the MTN team led by Eric Holder, former US attorney-general, according to the NCC, in a statement released by Tony Ojobo, its director of public affairs.

Already, MTN has made a formal presentation in writing conveying what it wants to discuss when the audience would eventually be granted. This has also been circulated to all stakeholders, like the NCC, ministries of Communications and Finance seeking their inputs to determine whether there is any room for further negotiation or deliberation. While the company’s offer to the government is being kept under wraps, it remains to be seen if this would be acceptable to the government and a final close brought to this unfortunate saga so that Nigerians can know the final deal.

But if MTN had not been discussing with NCC all along but directly with the federal government through the Office of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, shouldn’t the NCC and the Ministry of Communications have been carried along? Shouldn’t they have been duly briefed and updated by the Justice Minister since they are all part of the same government? And shouldn’t even the NCC have made clear clarifications before initially telling the media it has no records of MTN’s payment despite the embarrassment this would cause the country? I think it speaks to how untidy this government can be in handling very serious matters.  Of a fact, the communication flip-flop within the Buhari government and among its officials is most embarrassing. I think they can save us all these.

And if there is a question I think we must never tire of asking as Nigerians, it is that the Buhari government gives account of all revenues that come into the country’s coffers. Incomes received must be announced while expenditures made must be clearly communicated. At a time like this when promises made during electioneering campaigns are being changed and outrightly denied without any fear of God, we also need to put this government and its officials on their toes. With a number of things that have come up in the life of this administration since it came to power almost 10 months ago, I think they’ve demonstrated we shouldn’t be too generous with our trust despite their preachments of integrity and incorruptibility.

Like I posited in my earlier intervention on this matter last December, I believe how this fine is resolved will redefine the relationships between telecoms operators in the country and the NCC. But the good thing about it is that it would also help strengthen Nigeria’s regulatory framework when this dust eventually settles. I expect it to be beneficial to our country in the long run.

Meanwhile, with the latest news that NCC has again fined MTN  another sum of N12 million, this time, for breach of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) business rules and regulations, the telecoms company certainly needs to work more on its internal control mechanisms. Being seen as a telecoms company that consistently breaks regulatory rules it is supposed to obey does no good at all to its corporate image.

If MTN thinks it is too big as a business to fail, or falsely believes it can keep breaking laws and attracting preventable and unnecessary fines, it won’t be long before it starts recording losses that would affect its bottom-line. I don’t think this is what its owners and stakeholders wish for especially in an industry where there are other indigenous-owned options its millions of subscribers can port to.