Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will sanction operators if they don’t pass financial and technical checks, in order to prevent a repeat of a situation involving Etisalat Nigeria, which was unable to pay $1.2 billion of debt.
Sanctions are being considered as the regulator seeks to ensure operators’ fi nancial books are up to date, their networks meet required benchmarks, and they are fi t to apply for loans for network expansion.
Executive Director of Stakeholder Management at NCC, Sunday Dare, said the Etisalat Nigeria incident was a huge embarrassment for the country.
Th e operator could not pay back loans it had taken for network upgrade and expansion and eventually rebranded as 9mobile after parent Etisalat terminated a management agreement with its Nigerian unit and handed its 45 per cent stake in Etisalat Nigeria to a trustee.
In a statement issued in July the NCC said if 9mobile had gone under it would have “created a social problem especially with the job of over 2,000 Nigerians on the line”.
Th e commission added the loss of the operator could even create security challenges for the country.
E x e c u t i v e V i c e Chairman, NCC, Umar Garba Danbatta said at the time the regulator wants to “avert a looming economic disaster and see a viable and thriving 9mobile.
