The operations of MTN has been shutdown in the Kogi State of Nigeria because the company has allegedly failed to pay regulatory bills to the state for several years.
Prior to the shutdown by the Kogi State Utility Infrastructure Management and Compliance Agency (KUIMCA), MTN customers in the state experienced disruptions for at least two weeks.
The Director General of KUIMCA, Dr Taofeeq Isah told journalists that the shutdown was due to the failure of MTN to comply fully with the rules of operation as stipulated in the official gazette guiding their operations in the state.
“In my assumption of office last August, I went through their files and discovered that they have not fully complied with the rules guiding their operations in the state. I called them for a discussion where they complained of being overbilled concerning the area of the state covered by their optic fibre. I went with them for a verification exercise to assess their claim, which took about four days, and we found out they were even covering more areas than they claimed.
We asked them to go and make the necessary payment, but MTN refused. That is why we sealed off their facilities after obtaining a court order to do so,” he explained.
The DG called on the citizens of the state to be patient with them since their interests were being protected.
He said that since MTN is not the only network operating in the state, citizens as well as the security agencies to consider switching to other networks, considering their importance in securing the lives and property of Citizen,s which should not be compromised under any circumstances.
Also speaking at the press conference, the Executive Chairman of the Kogi Inland Revenue Service, Salihu Enehe, said that MTN has arrogated to itself so much power that they have been refusing to respond to so many entities, asking for compliance on various terms of operation in the state.
The Chairman, who was represented by the Director, MDA, Hasana Salawu, said that MTN has been indulging in violation of various rules, not only the optic fibre right of way across the state, but also has violated every rule guiding their operations in the state.
MTN claims to have 48 optic fibres when the audit revealed they have 199 fibres laid under the ground in the state. We have called for reconciliation meetings severally but they claimed to be ready up till now.
