MTN has not paid the 780 billion Naira (R60.6 billion) fine in Nigeria which it had purportedly been given until 31 December 2015 to pay, the Sunday Times reported.<\/p>\n
There has been much confusion about the New Year\u2019s deadline for MTN to pay the fine, with conflicting statements coming from the Nigerian government.<\/p>\n
The Sunday Times quoted Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) spokesman Tony Ojobo as saying that the deadline would not be extended.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are standing by the deadline. If MTN doesn\u2019t pay we will have to consult our lawyers and there could be certain consequences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
However, conflicting statements about the issue has been coming from the Nigerian Ministry of Communications.<\/p>\n
Initially the Ministry told Bloomberg that it would not consider an extension to the deadline.<\/p>\n
\u201cMTN has the right to seek the court\u2019s interpretation if it feels unsatisfied with the action of the regulator but nothing would stop the government action on the fine,\u201d said Victor Oluwadamilare, the spokesman for Communications Minister Adebayo Shittu.<\/p>\n
A subsequent report in Reuters had a very different statement by Oluwadamilare, saying that the Nigerian government would not do anything after the 31 December deadline expires.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe federal government, NCC (regulator) or any government agent will not do anything at the expiration of the Dec 31 deadline,\u201d Oluwadamilare said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that they (MTN) have gone to court we will await the outcome of the case. This is a government that believes in the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
MTN Nigeria\u2019s fine: from R71-billion to R60.6-billion<\/strong><\/p>\n The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) fined MTN \u20a61.04-trillion (around R71-billion at the time, or \u00b1R80.8-billion today) in October 2015 for not disconnecting unregistered SIMs on its network.<\/p>\n After negotiations with Nigerian authorities, the fine was reduced by 25% to \u20a6780-billion (now around R60.6-billion).<\/p>\n Dissatisfied with the outcome, MTN opted to take the matter to court in Lagos.<\/p>\n MTN has said that because the matter is now before court, previous judicial decisions in Nigeria show that neither it nor the Nigerian government can take further action until a ruling has been made.<\/p>\n MTN to challenge Nigeria fine in the high court<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n MTN hit with ratings downgrade<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n MTN Nigeria fine cut by a third<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on MTN<\/h3>\n