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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has received N55 billion from MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN) being the sixth and final installment of the N330 billion negotiated settlement of the N1 trillion the mobile giant was fined in 2016.
“We are very pleased to have completed the payment of the N330 billion negotiated settlement with the NCC. We are particularly gratified to be in a position to have fully met the terms of the settlement within the agreed timeframes,” said MTN’s Chief Corporate Relations Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo.
The telecom regulator had fined MTN N1.04 trillion in October 2015 having found it guilty of failing to cut off five million unregistered subscribers after a deadline set by NCC.
The fine was unprecedented leading to crash in MTN Group’s quoted shares in Johannesburg. Diplomatic intervention by the South African government and high-stake negotiations between economic and policy drivers in the two countries eventually provided the MTN respite.
Nigeria’s telecom regulator reduced the fine to N330 billion. The agreement also necessitates the telecom giant to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It met that condition last month as a fully listed company at the NSE.
“I would like to thank the NCC for their constructive and collaborative approach to this issue, and believe that we emerge from it with a stronger relationship, focused on ensuring maximum value is delivered to our people, from a strong and growing telecoms sector,” added Okigbo even as it assured of the company’s resolve to “continuously lead the market with innovations.”
NCC has confirmed the payment.
