NCC Should Settle out of Court with MTN
The squabble between MTN Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission over the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on MTN by the regulatory agency is becoming shambolic. Legal fireworks have begun. I strongly believe that this legal battle is absolutely unnecessary and will not be in the interest of any of the parties. This case ought not to be at this critical stage if our dear NCC had been reasonable and acted responsibly before and after imposing the ludicrous fine on MTNN for not disconnecting 5million+ subscribers with irregular SIM registration issues within its one week deadline.
Has anyone sat down to think that the fine was imposed for a delay, not a refusal to disconnect, and that the grounds for the delay proceeded from an honest need to carry out the exercise in a professional manner and with constant/regular engagement with the NCC. Some interesting facts obtained from sources at the NCC this week showed that MTNN indeed adequately carried the regulator along when it got the deadline to disconnect the subscribers. The NCC source said MTNN notified the regulator about the need to carefully sift through the data (18.6million records) and identify affected subscribers so that those who had since regularised their records were not inadvertently disconnected.
It is worrisome that MTNN was singled out for unnecessary assault. The big questions are: Why were other operators not sanctioned when NCC itself had declared that they were not fully compliant? Were other operators able to disconnect all their affected subscribers or is there something else? NCC should be more transparent in this regard. Since NCC eventually agreed that only 5m+ subscribers should be disconnected by MTNN, what would have happened if the GSM operator had immediately disconnected the 18.6million NCC initially insisted should be disconnected? Imagine the millions of Nigerians that would have had their social and economic lives unfairly and unnecessarily disrupted, including law enforcement and security agents the NCC was purportedly acting on behalf of.
Even if MTNN had deliberately delayed the disconnection, NCC should not have imposed a fine that will clearly cripple the company. The truth is that even with the so-called 25% reduction, the fine exceeds the total assets and equity of MTNN. If the company is folded up today and all its assets sold, it still would not cover the penalty. It is shocking to note that this fine is more than the entire budget of Lagos for 2016. So, what will NCC benefit from the death of MTNN? This company alone has paid over N1.3 trillion in taxes and levies to governments at different levels since 2001. How many companies in Nigeria are capable of doing this? The NCC should note that this assault on MTNN is a direct threat to over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs connected to MTN. It also puts a dampener on foreign investment and is a disincentive to investment inflows for a country that is clamouring for diversification of its economy.
The liquidation of MTNN will not be in the interest of anyone. The NCC fine is no doubt nonsensical. For me, the NCC should just commence an out of court settlement with MTNN and allow peace to reign. NCC has simply acted recklessly in this case. Already, the over five million Nigerians disconnected by MTNN are undergoing a harrowing experience. There is chaos in virtually all the SIM registration centres. Most of these subscribers have these numbers linked to their bank accounts. As a result, banking transactions are being hindered while they struggle to get reconnected. The management of MTNN must set up more SIM registration centres across the nation to ameliorate the suffering of these Nigerians.
On a last note, the NCC should also account for the N6.5 billion it spent on this same SIM registration. In a situation where the registration of a subscriber is said to be incomplete with a service provider, the NCC should bring out its own records and double check. Or, has NCC lost the data it collected?