A group known as the Integrity Youths has called on President Muhammed Buhari to investigate the Director General of National Broadcasting Commission(NBC) Mr. Emeka Mba over the controversial sale of the 700MHz spectrum, a national frequency meant for telecommunications services, to telecoms giant, MTN Nigeria, for N34 billion. The group stated that this was allegedly done without authority as industry sources maintain that the NBC cannot sell what does not belong to it. Investigations show that the spectrum is rightfully the property of the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC). NFMC is said to allocate spectrum to Government regulators in this case the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and NBC. Both NBC and NCC in turn assigns frequencies to their licensees. When any spectrum is withdrawn from licensees it reverts to the regulator which in turn returns the spectrum to NFMC. It is only NFMC that has the authority to sell by public auction the spectrum that NBC now purports to sell without due process.
It will be recall that Mr Ojie Panama, a Senior Partner at a firm, Integrated Network Management Consultants, had recently blown the lid off the deal, urging that the spectrum be returned to the NFMC and calling on the Federal Government to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter with a view to punishing those involved in the infraction.
The group maintained that the era where things were done with total disrespect for the rule of law and impunity was over.
“The era of impunity is gone. We should not encourage Rule of Thumb or Rule of Power as against Rule of law. It is when we abide by these rules that we can say we now have positive change in Nigeria”
Predictably, the NBC under the watch of its Director-General, Mr Emeka Mba, defended the action. The NBC boss claimed that the spectrum was still under the control of NBC at the time it was sold, and that the licensing was handled transparently as part of the commission’s convergence service. He did not, however, respond to the allegation that the NBC did not have any authority to conduct such sale which was also carried out in secrecy and without compliance with the procurement laws of NIGERIA.
The President of Integrity Youths, Comrade Joseph Akpan maintained that NBC’s defense of what is obviously a flagrant violation of the law is a daring attempt at justifying illegality. He added assuming the NBC has legal authorisation to sell the spectrum, did it follow through with the necessary bidding process? Where was it bidded for and how many companies submitted their bids?
“The outright sale to MTN Nigeria is a disincentive to other investors, particularly as they could have come up with better bids in an open and transparent process. Certainly, a situation where eligibility of bidders is not authenticated prior to opening bids, and where bidders are not subjected to post-qualification test, where the accuracy of submitted document is ascertained, is obviously questionable.”
“The kind of private sale that the NBC engaged in while ignoring other competitors in the country’s telecommunications market pollutes the business atmosphere. The transaction is made worse because it chose not to carry the NFMC along in the deal, cashing in on the country’s failure to achieve digital switch over to handle an issue clearly beyond its constitutional purview”. Akpan Submitted
In a related development, the NBC was recently sued by a signal distribution firm, Pinnacle Communications Limited over the alleged breach of license agreement
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/897/2014, the plaintiff named the NBC, its director-general, Emeka MBA, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), MTS Communications, Details Nigeria Limited and NTA-Star Network Limited as 1st to 6th defendants.
In the writ of summons brought pursuant to Order 6 Rule 1 (2) and (8), filed, Pinnacle Communications Limited is demanding among others, “damages in the sum of N1,274, 076, 000 (One Trillion, Two Hundred and Seventy-Four Billion, Seventy-Six Naira), being loss of earnings and profits accruing to the plaintiff arising from the alleged breaches by the 1st and 2nd defendants.
“An order directing the 1st defendant to refund the sum of N618, 750, 000, being fee paid by the plaintiff for the purported terrestrial digital signal license issued by the 1st defendant contrary to the draft license contained in the request for proposal which formed the basis of the open bid process between the plaintiff and the 1st defendant.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 4th, 5th and 6th defendants by themselves, subsidiaries, servants, officers, agents and any person or body acting for them or under them, from carrying or purporting to carry and distribute any terrestrial digital signal in Nigeria.
“A declaration that by section 2 of the National Broadcasting Commission Act, Laws of the Federation 2004, the 1st defendant is under obligation to implement the policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and in particular, the policy contained in the Federal Government of Nigeria’s White Paper dated April 2012 and titled Government White Paper on Transition from Analogue to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in Nigeria.
Mba during a press conference said he got the approval to sale same license to other firms from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
