By joshua 
We shut down MTN operation in Kogi State Owing to non compliance – Kogi Govt.
The Kogi State Utility Infrastructure Management and Compliance Agency, (KUIMCA) has explained the reasons behind the disruption in the service mobile Telecom giant, MTN in the state, pointing out that MTN owing to non compliance.
The Telecom service has been experiencing a service distruption in the last two weeks and witnessed total shut down in the last one week.
The Director General of KUIMCA Director General, Dr Taofeeq Isah while speaking with journalists on Friday in Lokoja attributed the shut down to the failure of the Telecom company to comply fully with rules of operation as stipulated in the official gazette guiding their operation in the state.
“In my assumption of office last August, I went through their files and discovered that they have not fully complied with the rules guiding their operations in the state. I called them for a discussion where they complained of being overbilled concerning the area of the state covered by their optic fibre.
” I went with them for verification exercise to assess their claim which took about 4 days and we found out they were even covering more areas than they claimed.
“We asked they to go and make the necessary payment but MTN refused. That is why we sealed off their facilities after obtaining court order to do so so”.
The Director General called on the citizens of the state to be patient with them since their interest was being protected .
He said that since MTN is not the only network operating in the state, citizens as well as the security agencies to consider switching to other networks considering their importance in securing the lives and property of Citizens which should not be compromised under any circumstance.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman, Kogi State Internal Revenue Service , Salihu Enehe said that MTN has arrogated to itself so much power that they have been refusing to respond to so many entrities asking for complainces on various termes of operations in the state.
The Chairman who was represented by a Director in the agency Hassana Salawu noted that
MTN has been indulging in violation of various rules not only the optic fibre right of way across the state but also and have violated every rules guiding their operations in the state.
“MTN claimed to have 48 optic fibres when audit revealed they have 199 fibres laid under the ground in the state. We have called for reconciliation meetings severally but they claimed not to be ready up till now”.
But in a swift reaction, the MTN spokesperson in the State, though will not want his name in print, confirmed that negotiations is on going, assured that the issues will soon be resolved.