There are indications that President Muhammad Buhari has
received evidence linking his Chief of Staff, CoS, Abba Kyari to a N500m bribe
from the telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria.
The alleged bribe was aimed at softening the heavy fine the
Federal Government had imposed on the telecommunication giant, says
SaharaReporters.
The Federal Government through the Nigerian Communication Commission,
NCC, had in October 2015 slammed MTN with a fine of N1.04 trillion.
The sanction was due to its refusal to comply with a
directive to disconnect 5.1 million improperly registered lines before the
deadline given to telecoms operators in the country.
Although the fine was subsequently reduced by 25 per cent to
N780 billion, MTN Nigeria failed to pay the penalty.
The telecom giant in June 2016, however agreed to pay a fine
of N333bn to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Chairman of the group, Phuthuma Nhleko, who retired in the
heat of the crisis, led the negotiation process.
Nhleko in his resignation letter had said, “The relationship
between MTN, the Nigerian government and the Nigerian Communications Commission
has been restored and strengthened.”
However, the new report said the evidence was presented to
President Buhari several times including during the Sallah holiday.
But Kyari allegedly replied that he was helping the All
Progressives Congress, APC, raise funds for the gubernatorial election in
Bayelsa State.
Kyari reportedly claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari was
aware of his involvement in the election, saying the President even asked him
if he was the party Chairman, though did not relieve him of his post.
No comments:
Post a Comment