The Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) has said it is discussing with the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) and some commercial banks in the country over the unpaid loans issue they
have with Etisalat Nigeria.
A top NCC official said in an
interview in Abuja yesterday that the commission would not fold its arms and
allow any bank to take over the telecom company because of the effect that
could have on the industry.
The official, who pleaded anonymity
because the parties involved in the negotiation have not given the nod to go
public with the issue, said the NCC would soon summon the Etisalat top
management to update the commission on how far it has gone on the debt issue.
He said: “We are the regulator of
the industry. As part of our duties and mandates, we liaise with other
regulators and other government agencies on behalf of our industry on the issue
affecting any of the players in our industry.
“We do this always, and on this
issue we are on it; we have met with the parties involved and we are still
meeting with them. We are trying to prevent any ugly occurrence in the
industry. We wouldn’t allow a telco with about 23 million subscribers to leave
them out in the cold.”
He disclosed that NCC would hear
from Etisalat to know what exactly to do on the matter.
The spokesperson of Etisalat,
Oluseyi Osundedo confirmed last night that the telco was in
discussion with the banks and “our discussion had reached an advanced stage.
There is no cause for alarm.”
She blamed the telco inability to
pay the debt back on time on the current economic downturn and lack of access
to forex.
Source:Daily Trust
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