The Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has said President Muhammadu Buhari will decide the fate of telecommunications giant, MTN, on the N1.4 trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Shittu said the matter is now before Buhari, who will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time in the best interest of the country.
The Minister disclosed this on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Alliance 4 Affordable Internet Nigeria Coalition conference in Lagos.
Shittu said the fine was not borne out of hatred but in the interest of the public.
He said: “I don’t think there is any conflicting position on where government stands on the MTN issue.
“Recall that there were violations, which were established against MTN.
“The violations were to the tune of five million subscribers.
“There are many countries where subscribers, in the entire country, are not up to half of the five million.
“In the case of Nigeria, we had more than five million violations.
“However, both the government and MTN are on the same page that rules have been broken in this instance.
“The issue is now before Mr. President.
“He will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time.
“And the President would do what is best for the public interest.
“The good thing is that MTN did not contest the fact that they had violated the regulations and guidelines.
“They never contested it.
“They admitted they were at fault.
“They apologized for their role in the saga and they made a commitment that what happened will never happen again.
“And, of course, they made a plea for review of the payment terms.”