NCC did not grant waiver to Mobitel, say officials
By Sonny Aragba-Akpore
THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) did not grant a waiver to a telecoms firm, Mobitel Limited, but gave the latter a concession on certain debts, officials of the commission yesterday clarified in Lagos at a media briefing.
Consequently, Mobitel Limited officials currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged default in the payment of N242.7 million spectrum fees to the Federal Government yesterday denied the charge.
Chairman, Mobitel Limited, Adeyemi Akinsanya and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Johnson Salako, told reporters in Lagos that the new management and shareholders took over after all requisite paperwork relating to the debts owed by Mobitel was duly taken care of by the old board and management led by Gen. Tanko Ayuba.
The new management bought into Mobitel after all grey areas were duly cleared by the Ayuba-led board.
On the basis of this, the new owners, led by Omni Ventures, took over and bidded for the now controversial 2.3 GHz spectrum frequency, which the NCC auctioned in May.
Salako argued that his arrest and detention by EFCC for eight days was uncalled for because "our management never defaulted in any payment or got any waiver for that matter, which was the basis for his travails at the EFCC until a Federal High Court, Abuja granted him a reprieve.
By June 26 and on the strength of working papers made available to the EFCC by the NCC), Mobitel was cleared of the allegations.
The NCC letter stated that what Mobitel got was a "concession" in line with due process.
The NCC stated that Mobitel's bill was inaccurately estimated at N747.9 million, which should not have included:
- Billing for two states in which it had not rolled out. These states were Rivers and Federal Capital Territory for 2.2 GHz for N113.4 million each (N226.8 million for both);
- disputed arrears which had been recalculated under the frequency spectrum pricing regulation to N53.6 million; and
- a N20 million already paid into Mobitel account.
The NCC told the EFCC that Mobitel was billed in excess to the tune of N298.6 million.
On the basis of these disclosures, a Federal High Court Judge, A.I Chikere, ordered the EFCC to release Salako.
The telecommunications firm described Salako's arrest and detention as "mere distraction from the main issues."
"We bidded for and got the 2.3 GHz Spectrum licence and it was done within stated rules by the NCC and we are worried that officialdom is creating extraneous issues out of this," Salako stressed.
Akinsanya added: "Mobitel is looking ahead, beyond these distractions. We want to provide Nigerians state-of-the-art technology through deployment of WiMAX broadband Internet connectivity."
He disclosed that Mobitel would roll out its phased services across the country in October this year.
Mr. Ayoola Oke, Special Assistant to the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), NCC, who is in charge of legal and regulatory matters, stated that because Mobitel was moribund following the passage of its former CEO, Charles Alaba Joseph, the company lost its entire staff, including those in charge of regulatory affairs, billing reconciliation.
He said given this development, errors were not impossible in the process of vetting the firm's books after years of inactivity.
Oke disclosed that Mobitel's acting chairman registered for a "waiver" after making a payment of N500 million, which instrument he did not receive but got "a discount" to compensate for the initial billing errors.
