Osun Consultant Accuses Telecoms Companies of Non-Compliance, Unpaid Bills

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The consultant to Osun State Government has decried the attitude of telecoms companies operating in the state, accusing them of non-compliance with relevant laws, regulations and unpaid bills.

The state consultant and Chairman of Global Transactions Limited, Mr. Rotimi George Taylor, who is the sole consultant to the Osun State Government on telecommunications infra-structure, made the allegations against telecommunications companies operating in the state at a press conference in Osogbo.

According to Mr. George – Taylor, “Many telecoms companies are not complying with the law. He singled out MTN, one of the largest mobile network operators in Nigeria, stating that the company has outstanding bills in Osun State totaling over N900,000,000.”

He posited that “MTN has laid over 270 kilometres of cable in Osun State without paying a dime to the state government.”

Taylor said. “The truth is that if telecoms companies are having issues, some of them are due to poor due diligence measures and corporate irresponsibility.” 

“The bills they are supposed to pay, they do not pay them, and this is why a naming and shaming policy had to be adopted.”

Taylor revealed that MTN has also been reported to their headquarters in South Africa, as they cannot “rob the citizens of Osun State.”

He pointed out that this development was likely to put more pressure on telecoms companies operating in the state to settle their outstanding debts and comply with the relevant laws and regulations of Osun State.

The state government had recently made it clear that it will not tolerate any form of non-compliance or unpaid bills from these companies.