House of Reps wants to double telecom giant's $5.2 billion fine

folarin okunola

March 30, 2016 11:59 AM

Namdas made the statement in a phone interview with Bloomberg from Abuja, saying that the company must pay N400,000 for each of the 5.2 million unregistered SIMs which it failed to deactivate.

A worker sweeps past an outlet of South Africa's MTN Group in Johannesburg, February 23, 2016.

Abdulrazak Namdas of the House of Representatives has said that the MTN Group must pay double the original $5.2 billion it was originally fined by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) last year, according to media reports.

Namdas made the statement in a phone interview with Bloomberg from Abuja, saying that the company must pay N400,000 for each of the 5.2 million unregistered SIMs which it failed to deactivate.

He also said the House will "investigate" why South Africa-based MTN was negotiating the Nigerian attorney general instead of the NCC in its efforts to get the fine reduced.

READ: Telecom giant warns shareholders against media reports out of Nigeria

Although the fine was later reduced to $3.9 billion, MTN proposed a $1.5 billion payment in installments to settle the fine. The company already paid $252 million in February as part of the proposal.

According to Nigerian CommunicationsWeek, MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng said the company wouldn't comment on Namdas's statement, adding that MTN would guide the market accordingly "when there is more clarity on the matter".

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