The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has clarified the status of Airtel’s operating licence, saying the telecom company’s application is pending approval.
A statement signed by the commission’s director of public affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the clarification became necessary because of claims by the telco that the commission had approved its licence for another 10 years.
The statement read in part: “The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission 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 ten 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 Licence (UASL) granted to it by the commission, the application is yet to be approved as it is still undergoing required regulatory process.”
This statement is issued for the guidance of our stakeholders, it added.
