The Senate Committee on Communications has revealed an ongoing N300 billion proposal between MTN and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, over the N780 billion fine imposed on the network by Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
At an investigative hearing in the National Assembly, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, produced a proposal by MTN where the network provider insisted that it could only pay the total of N300 billion out of the N780 billion fine imposed.
The breakdown of the proposal, which was forwarded to the ministers of communications and finance by the solicitor-general as well as NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Umar Dambatta, consists of a N50 billion already paid by MTN into a recovery account of the Central Bank of Nigeria in good faith and another N100 billion to be paid via electronic transfer between December 31, 2016 to December 31, 2020.
The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adeola Olamilekan, expressed concern that the Attorney General of the Federation and the Presidency kept NCC and the Minister of Communications in the dark in the negotiations with MTN over the fine.