GROUP SLAMS MINISTER OVER BUHARI CLAIMS IN MTN N1.04TRN FINE

The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has asked the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, not to drag President Muhammadu Buhari into the $5.2 billion fine
imposed on MTN by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
Mr. Shittu had said recently in Lagos that President Buhari had the final say on the N1.04 trillion fine on MTN “at the appropriate time in public interest”.
“The sheer number of pre-registered SIM cards discovered on the network of the telecommunications company was alarming and worrisome.
“MTN has not disputed the charge. They admitted that they were at fault and they apologized for their role in the whole saga,” the minister had said in Lagos.
“And they have made a commitment that what happened will never happen again and of course we will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time.
“Nigerians should expect that Mr. President will do the best to ensure that public interest is guaranteed. It is not about the money itself. It is about ensuring that Nigerians appreciate the need to respect the law.
“Nobody wants MTN to die. It is not in the interest of Nigeria for MTN Nigeria to die, because as far as I am concerned, MTN Nigeria Limited is a Nigerian company. It may have originated from South Africa, but it is a Nigerian company. The Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer are all Nigerians,” the minister had said.
But the Executive Director of ANEEJ, David Ugolor, on Wednesday criticized the minister for attempting to drag the president’s name into the matter.
Mr. Ugolor said MTN was indicted for violating the orders of the regulatory agency in the telecommunications industry and should be allowed to face the full consequence of its indiscretion.
The NCC, he pointed out, should be allowed to carry out its statutory job without any interference from the Presidency, arguing that allowing the president to meddle in the issue was capable of undermining the anti-corruption campaign by his administration.
“We condemn the minister for misleading to the president into interfering in the MTN fine issue,” Mr. Ugolor said.
“We expect the minister to allow the NCC to handle MTN professionally as an institution charged with that responsibility. He should not drag the president unduly into the matter. This could be misconstrued for politics,” he said.
He rejected claims that the minister’s call for the president’s intervention was in the public interest, saying the country’s law should be allowed to take its course uninterrupted.
“If there must be reprieve for MTN, the NCC, as a regulatory body that pronounced the fine in the first place, should be allowed to consider the reprieve for MTN and not Mr. President. The communication minister should spare Buhari and Nigerians this problem,” Mr. Ugolor said.