President Bola Tinubu would do well to cast his gaze in the direction of the board of the Nigerian Communications Commission, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has said.
Omokri, who is a renowned social media influencer, in a statement, raised a number of questions, stressing that there is some anti-Nigerian sentiment on that board similar to what would have cost Nigeria a loss of almost $10 billion with the P&ID scam. Members of the NCC board are too close to MTN for comfort.
“Why should MTN have authorisation to collect value-added tax as foreign-owned telecommunication? What is their business with VAT? Who and who on the NCC board gave MTN those powers and why? What relationship do some members of the NCC board have with MTN?
“Is it a coincidence that a former senior staff of FIRS is on that board? Are there some conflict of interest issues here? The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should be looking into this. This is an anti-trust violation and unfair competition. In the United States, multiple firms that tried this faced congressional sanctions and billion-dollar fines, plus people went to jail.
“Why would the NCC allow a foreign telecommunications company, officially branded a hostile monopoly by the Ghanaian government, to get away with monopolistic tendencies in Nigeria? Ernest Ndukwe, a former Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC is on that board, as is my acquaintance, Omobola Olubusola Johnson, a former Minister of Communication Technology. How can they sit on the board and watch such a travesty unfold?
“And why would a staff of the NCC undermine a Nigerian telecommunications firm on behalf of MTN, a foreign dominant player, using information that was not verified and has since been debunked? Are there people in NCC trying to undermine the efforts of the Tinubu administration to revamp the economy and strengthen the naira?”
While maintaining that MTN is responsible for some of the most significant capital flights out of Nigeria, he said: “Together with Airtel, they are responsible for almost $20 million leaving the Nigerian economy for South Africa and India every day. It will be a shame if Nigerian officials help them to undermine the Nigerian economy as they have done in Ghana.”
