Oni’s lawsuit: MTN insist on ethical conduct, bags CPC prize

MTN Nigeria has insisted on its position that it did not contradict the laid down ethical conduct as far as its license is concern with regards to the on-going allegations on Oni’s lawsuit.

This is coming as the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has honoured MTN Nigeria for consistently improving customer experience on its network and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that there have been some media reports alleging that the unified mobile operator acted in contravention according to the former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni.

Reacting to these allegations made in a lawsuit by Oni, who accused the MTN of unethical conduct concerning call records provided to security agencies during the Court contest of gubernatorial election results in Ekiti State in 2010, maintained that it acted within the confines of the law of the land.

As said by MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, “MTN did not in any way act contrary to the terms and conditions of its operating license with respect to call records that were made available to the Investigative Panel (IP) set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the 2010 Appeal Court contest of gubernatorial election results in Ekiti State.”

He pointed that with regards to the allegations made by Mr. Oni, “we will defend ourselves robustly in the court of law and we are optimistic that justice will prevail.”

Segun Oni ... in centre of storm

MTN, Goodluck said, has a stellar reputation for ethical conduct and it could never be in its interest to act otherwise.

“Therefore, we take grave exception to any insinuation of unethical or improper behavior against us and the attendant attempt to tarnish our reputation,” he declared.

Further, he said MTN acts responsibly at all times, and in accordance with relevant laws, stressing that this unshakeable corporate principle guided the company’s actions.

“Indeed, we provided all the necessary records to the requisite security agencies in accordance with laid down procedure and this has been repeatedly verified by our industry regulator, the NCC,” he asserted.

Also setting the records straight, Mr. Goodluck said that the company is apolitical and non-partisan and as such it has no reason or motivation to act in any unethical or untoward manner as alleged.

In another development, MTN has been honoured by the Consumer Protection Council for its steadfast in improving customer experience on its network and for its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

MTN was formally recognised at the maiden edition of the awards ceremony which took place at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on Thursday, 17 January, 2013, tagged the Nigeria Consumer Awards (NiCA).

CPC claimed that the outcome of the awards were based on very rigorous selection process including electronic voting by members of the public, surveys and focus groups and painstaking collation and moderation of results by a panel of judges, which included representatives from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, CPC, the Nigerian Communications Commission and other industry regulators.

At the end of the process, MTN emerged winner in the categories of “NiCA Award for Service Excellence” in the Telecoms category and the “NiCA Award for Corporate Social Responsibility”. 

Responding, Mr. Goodluck, said the mere “short-listing and eventual selection of MTN as the winner of the Award for Service Excellence in the telecoms category at the NiCA Awards marks a significant recognition and endorsement of our ongoing efforts to continue to improve the entire scope of service delivery to our esteemed customers despite the constraints of our operating environment.”

He added that the CSR Award, on the other hand, “is another salient recognition of MTN’s efforts to selflessly give back to society in a sustainable manner through carefully designed projects with measurable long-term impact.”

Remmy Nweke/DSBN
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!