Nigeria loses $8.5 billion to phone operators, rep alleges

The House of Representatives Chairman on Information and National Orientation, Dino Melaye, has alleged that the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commissions, Ernest Ndukwe, caused our nation to lose revenue totalling $8.55 billion. This comes ahead of a motion on the poor services of Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) in the country, scheduled for Tuesday.

The money, he said, formed the five years tax waiver granted the first two service providers, MTN and ECONET (now Zain) before they began operations in Nigeria.

He said that each of the two companies ought to have paid $285 million per year as licensing fees throughout the five years, but this was waived by the NCC.

“As I speak to you, both MTN and Celtel paid $285 million to get licence in this country and within nine months they recouped that money, and yet Ernest Ndukwe advised the federal government that these telecom companies should be given five years waiver. No responsible country in the world, no responsible regulator at the expense of tax payers and masses of this country, will give expatriate companies that are not indigenous companies a five year tax holiday.

“As I sat down to compute the amount of money that should have accrued to Nigeria as a result of tax holiday, it is three times the amount of money they even paid for their licences. This is outrageously calamitous. It is painful, it is unacceptable, and Nigerians must not permit it. This tax waiver even includes import duties for five years.”

Mr. Melaye also alleged that Ndukwe has been drawing funds illegally from the NCC as pension, having attained the mandatory retirement age of 60 years as provided in the NCC Act, but still works as a staff of the commission.

“It may interest you to know that Ernest Ndukwe is collecting pension as a retired staff of NCC, while still in office. Even when section 16 of the Act establishing the commission specified that only employees of the NCC will benefit from pension.”

Reacting to these allegations, Reuben Mouka, NCC spokesperson, said Ndukwe’s appointment was done by the president and was duly confirmed for a five-year tenure that will expire in 2010.

“Mr. President and the Senate had full information about the person of Ndukwe before his confirmation for second tenure,” Mouka said.

“The laws guiding the appointment of Ndukwe to head a commission is a political appointment like most other commissions, and his age has nothing to do with this position because he is not a civil servant. The matter was settled since last year and it is curious that this matter would be an issue for a press by the honourable member.”

by Festus Owete/Abuja

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