he confirmation by the Ministry of Communications on Friday that it was paid N50 billion by troubled MTN Nigeria on behalf of the Nigerian government may have unwittingly exposed the Buhari administration to charges of lacking in transparency and predisposed to abuse of the country’s law. Only the NCC, not the supervising ministry, may by law, regulate the country’s telecom sector.

The Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 makes the NCC a truly independent regulatory agency with the necessary powers to independently regulate the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. Under previous governments – Obasanjo, Yar Adua, and Goodluck, the regulator has not had to contend with interference from the ruling government. Now, stakeholders fear there is a deliberate attempt to weaken public institutions and make them subservient to the whims of political appointees.


http://itedgenews.com/2016/02/27/stakeholders-in-shock-as-nigerian-ministry-of-communications-confirms-secret-deal-with-mtn/#