Nigeria can’t afford to lose MTN – Barrister Shittu

Nigeria’s minister of Communication, Barrister Adebayo Shittu has urged regulatory agencies not to scare away telecom giant, MTN from the Nigerian market.

MTN is at the moment being investigated by lawmakers over alleged illegal money transfers months after it was slammed with a $1bn fine by the Nigerian Communication Commission over some infractions.

“Nobody will say that MTN is not important to Nigeria – we must encourage them, we must not scare them away from Nigeria,” Shittu told journalists at the weekend.

MTN, the largest mobile phone firm in Nigeria, threatened to pull out of the country last year during a dispute over unregistered SIM cards before the government agreed to reduce a settlement on the issue by nearly 70% to $1-billion.

The company now faces another potentially hefty penalty if an investigation by Nigeria’s upper house of parliament finds evidence that MTN Group illegally transferred $13.9-billion out of the West African country between 2006 and 2016, as alleged.

The crux of the allegation into illegal money transfers is that MTN did not obtain certificates declaring it had invested foreign currency in Nigeria within a 24-hour deadline stipulated in a 1995 law, and so the repatriation of returns on those investments was illegal.

“They have a right to repatriate their profits as long as it is legitimately done,” said Shittu, adding that any time MTN is suspected of breaking the law it will be investigated, though the “facts against them must be established beyond reasonable doubt.”

“Everyone who is in business will have ups and downs. You don’t throw away the baby with the bathwater.”

Shittu said the investigation was an issue for financial regulators and did not fall within his “constitutional responsibility.” The government, however, can influence the size of the penalty, as in the case of the SIM card issue.