The regulatory impasse between the country’s telecommunication regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission, and a leading GSM service provider, MTN, has taken a new dimension, with a recent payment of N50billion “good faith deposit” by the latter.

The crisis began in October last year when the NCC slammed a N1.04 trillion (about $5.2 billion) fine on MTN for failure to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers’ SIM cards from its network.

Shortly after the announcement of the fine, MTN claimed it had secured a 35 per cent reduction, equivalent to N647 billion (about $3.4 billion) from the NCC.

NCC however blamed typographic error in its letter to the operator, saying the actual reduction was by 25 per cent (N780 billion).

As the December 31, 2015 deadline for the payment of the fine elapsed, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, claimed the final decision on the matter rests on the Presidency, clearly ignoring his role as the head of the supervising ministry.

But as a regulatory agency established by law of the National Assembly, the NCC has the full backing of the constitution to make and enforce its rules and regulations, with the supervision of the ministry, and without reference to any higher court.

Industry experts argued that it was the lack of firmness by government officials to enforce its rules that emboldened MTN to go to the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge the fine.

But, as far back as 2013, the Director of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement at the NCC, Ubale Maska, said the regulator had written to all operators in the Nigerian telecom sector, giving a July 1, 2013 deadline for every unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to be disconnected from their networks.

He said the NCC cautioned that any operator that failed to comply would be liable to a fine of N200,000 for each SIM card pursuant to Regulations 19 and 20, Section 15(2) of the Registration of Subscribers Regulations, Act 2011.

“Clearly, more than two years later, MTN Nigeria flagrantly ignored the regulatory directive. But, the same company and its parent group were the first to describe the fine as excessive and arbitrary,” said an industry player, Sam Nelson.

At the expiration of the November 15, 2015 deadline, when MTN refused to pay the fine, NCC was compelled to allow an extension to December 31, 2015. The regulator also threatened other sanctions, including a possible withdrawal of its operational license.

“Interestingly, more than two months after the deadline, the impression Nigerians are left with is that government laws are meant to be breached with impunity without any consequence,” Mr. Nelson said.

Last month, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, announced the company’s decision to withdraw its suit against the Nigerian government, following a part payment of the fine to the federal government.

The announcement, however, stirred controversy with NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, claiming the commission was never aware of either the MTN’s decision to withdraw the case or of its payment of N50 billion “good faith deposit” to the federal government.

Although the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, initially also denied knowledge of the deal, confirmation came later to reveal the involvement of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.

The Attorney-General, who later confirmed that MTN, through its legal counsel, approached his ministry to indicate willingness to withdraw the case, said nothing concrete took place.

He explained that the N50 billion was a “good faith” gesture towards an amicable settlement of the fine saga.

“The matter is what the office of Attorney-General of the Federation, as the chief law officer of the federation, is constitutionally vested with the powers to do, as the matter is pending in court,” Mr. Malami said.

The minister further explained that an audience with MTN should not be misconstrued as an intention to saddle the NCC, the federal government or his office with an obligation over the fine.

Experts however picked holes in the said meeting with Mr. Malami, saying since the NCC had handed down appropriate sanctions in line with the terms agreed by all operators, there was no basis for the meeting.

“In the first place, why was NCC not involved in all preliminary negotiations and decisions, having direct or indirect bearing with the fine, being the agency at the centre of it all?

Source: http://www.globalnaijablog.com/2016/03/19/553/

Yeah, bad precedence if I may say, it means that any other case can be technically manoeuvred