The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has extended the November 16 deadline given to MTN to pay the $5.2 billion fine imposed on it for failing to delist unregistered SIM cards as directed by the NCC.
It will be recalled that NCC had imposed a fine of N200,000 for each of the unregistered 5.1 million SIM cards MTN failed to disconnect, making it a total of $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion).
According to a statement from the MTN Group, the NCC has extended the deadline until negotiations between the company and the regulatory body have been concluded.
The statement said that the Executive Chairman of the Group, Phuthuma Nhleko had personally met with officials of the regulatory body to continue the ongoing discussions with a view to providing an amicable solution to the impasse.
The discussions border on matters of non-compliance and the remedial measures that may have to be adopted to address this, the statement said.
The statement quoted MTN as saying it was “committed to resolving the matter together with the NCC as soon as possible”.
While urging its stakeholders not to panic as negotiations are progressing, the company said it will continue to update them about any material development on the matter through the Stock Exchange News Service of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Leave a Reply