By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has refuted claims by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Olusegun Ogunsanya, that the company’s operating licence has been renewed.
Mr Ogunsanya was quoted in the media last week as saying that the 10-year operating licence of Airtel Nigeria had been renewed by the agency, which regulates the telecommunications industry in the country.
But in a statement issued on Sunday by the NCC Director of Public Affairs, Mr Ikechukwu Adinde, the commission categorically said this was totally untrue.
Though the NCC admitted that Airtel Nigeria has applied for a renewal of its licence, it was yet to approve this as it was still under scrutiny.
It was reported that Mr Ogunsanya made the claim when he spoke with newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, during the media launch of Airtel’s corporate social responsibility programme, Touching Lives 6.
“The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to a recent statement on an online publication credited to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Olusegun Ogunsanya, to the effect that the mobile operating licence of Airtel has been renewed by the Commission for another period of 10 years.
Mr Ogunsanya was said to have made the statement while speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, during the media launch of Airtel’s corporate social responsibility programme, ‘Touching Lives 6’.
“The commission wishes to state that while Airtel Nigeria has applied for the renewal of the Unified Access Service (UASL) Licence granted to it by the Commission, the application is yet to be approved as it is still undergoing [the] required regulatory process.
“This statement is issued for the guidance of our stakeholders,” the full statement read.
