There are strong indications that Nigerian government officials will soon resume talks with MTN reps over the $3.9 billion fine slammed on the network by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This follows the green light given to the resumption of the deliberation by the country’s House of Representatives.
Saheed Fijabi, chairman of the House of Representatives’ communications committee, in a phone interview said since it was the NCC that issued the fine, the regulator should be the one that will lead the negotiations.
While commenting on the status of their investigations, he said the lawmakers will complete their probe and release something very soon.
However, media reports suggested that the NCC is reluctant to revive talks without knowing the outcome of the probe.
“At the discretion of the President, if they feel they want to negotiate, they should continue negotiating,” Fijabi said, referring to the NCC.
“We will continue with our own investigation. We don’t want to rush into any conclusion for now because of the sensitivity of the case.”
The NCC held talks last year with MTN and its lawyer, the former US Attorney Eric Holder, and agreed to reduce the fine to $3.9bn from $5.2bn.
“MTN continues to engage with the Nigerian authorities,” spokesperson Chris Maroleng said in e-mailed comments. “We have put our position forward, and this is now subject to internal discussions by authorities in that country. MTN remains optimistic on reaching an amicable conclusion on this matter, in the short term.”
The regulator is waiting for “official communication” from the House of Representatives regarding the outcome of the investigation before it can reopen talks, NCC spokesman Tony Ojobo said by phone. “We wouldn’t want to go ahead and conclude and then their report is saying something totally different.”
