ETISALAT: NCC assures nigerians banks can't operate licence...

Following the planned takeover of Etisalat Nigeria, a telecommunication firm, by a consortium of banks led by Access Bank, the regulatory agency has assured Nigerians that the network’s services will not be affected.

The commission in a statement on Tuesday evening in reaction to the announcement of the banks’ takeover by Tony Ojobo, its Director, Public Affairs, noted that the licence granted Etisalat is not transferable, hence the banks, or other entity, asides the licensee cannot operate the network.

The Commission drew the attention of the banks to provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003 Section 38: Sub section 1 which states that “The grant of a license shall be personal to the licensee and the license shall not be operated by, assigned, sub licensed or transferred to another party unless the prior written approval of the commission has been granted;
Sub section 2 – A licensee shall at all times comply by the terms and condition of the license and the provision of this act and its subsidiary legislation”.

NCC also assured that it has taken proactive steps to cushion the impact of the takeover, without prejudice to the ongoing effort between Etisalat and the banks towards a negotiated settlement.

The statement read in part, “The Commission is aware of the indebtedness of Etisalat to the consortium of banks”, and that “in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it mediated by holding several meetings with the banks, Etisalat and other stakeholders with a view to finding a resolution.

“Regrettably these meetings did not yield the desired results.

“The NCC wishes to reassure the over 21 million Etisalat subscribers that it will do all within its regulatory power to ensure that Etisalat subscribers continue to enjoy the services provided by the operator.

“The Commission has taken proactive steps to cushion the impact of the takeover, this is without prejudice to the ongoing effort between Etisalat and the banks toward negotiated settlement.

“In view of the recent development, NCC wishes to reassure all stakeholders in the telecommunications sector in particular the subscribers on the Etisalat Network that the Commission will ensure that the integrity of Etisalat Network is not compromised.

“Whilst the banks and Etisalat are working at resolving the issues, the Commission wishes to assure subscribers that they will continue to enjoy the services provided by Etisalat”.