MONDAYBUSINESS NCC secures N221m waiver for MTN in Kano

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, has secured a permit fee waiver of a whopping N221 million for MTN Nigeria in Kano State.

A similar intervention by the NCC boss in Ogun State last year resulted in the unsealing of 47 base stations under lock and key, while the state Governor, Mr Ibikunle Amosun, also reduced ground rent fee owed by IHS Towers from N370 million to N120 million.

A statement by NCC yesterday said some staff of Huawei, working on the telecommunication infrastructure expansion in Kano State on behalf of MTN Nigeria, were also arrested by the Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KANUPDA), a development which put a full stop to the project.

The situation could have had adverse effects on the quality of service experienced among millions of subscribers in the state and beyond before it was swiftly nipped in the bud, according to NCC.

But Danbatta quickly made an unscheduled visit to Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and the government magnanimously waived the permit fee of Two Hundred and Twenty One Million Naira (N221, 000, 000) for deployment of fibre infrastructure in the state.

Danbatta was said to have convinced the governor about the economic advantages that the state would gain from the deployment of more telecommunication infrastructure, as well the potential quality of service concern that millions of service subscribers would face if the work was further delayed.

In a letter signed by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO), Arch Bashir Mudi Adamu, and addressed to MTN, the agency, however, said the waiver of permit fees was granted in respect of two federal roads in the state: Zaria Road and Maiduguri Road.