The Minister of Communications Technology, Adebayo Shittu said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari will have the final say on the fine given to telecoms company, MTN over the subscriber identity module (SIM) card infractions. The fine is the sum of N1.4trillion ($5.2billion).
According to Shittu, the number of discovered pre-registered SIM cards discovered on the network was alarming and worrisome. MTN has apologised in response to the charge, promising that there won’t be a repeat.
“They (MTN) admitted that they were at fault and they apologised for their role in the whole saga. And they have made a commitment that what happened will never happen again and of course we will take the necessary decision at the appropriate time.
“Nigerians should expect that Mr. President will do the best to ensure that public interest is guaranteed. It is not about the money itself; it is about making sure that Nigerians appreciate (the need to respect the law). I want to repeat this, nobody wants MTN to die. It is not in the interest of Nigeria for MTN Nigeria to die because as far as I am concerned, MTN Nigeria Limited is a Nigerian company. It may have originated from South Africa, but it is a Nigerian company. The Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer are Nigerians,” he said.
Source: The Nation
