Globacom Nigeria Limited is owing its vendors over N2 billion, Society Reporters NG has learnt.
And despite the intervention of the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, Globacom has refused to pay the vendors who operate under the aegis of the Wireless Applications Services Providers Association of Nigeria.
What has even made it more painful for the WASPAN members is that the Chief Executive Officer of Globacom, Otunba Mike Adenuga, has approved that the money be released to the service providers.
According to documents available to us, Globacom is owing members of WASPAN not less than N2 billion as the total accruals to the Value Added Service providers was yet to be fully computed.
In a petition to the NCC, the WASPAN members said Globacom is owing its members over N2 billion.
In the petition, WASPAN alleged that Globacom refused to pay them the 20 per cent that was to accrue to them from the revenue they generated alongside the company.
This was based on earnings from Value Added Services rendered to Globacom subscribers since 2013 by the WASPAN members.
The petitioners also complained that Globacom has refused to give a detailed log of the services provided by them, which has been consumed, to show how much exactly Globacom owes them.
The members of WASPAN are of the opinion that the debt owed by Globacom, if fully investigated, is far in excess of the N2 billion claimed as the total outstanding by Globacom.
The NCC, on receipt of the petition, had mandated Globacom to produce within 30 days the detailed logs of the services rendered by the vendors and also make immediate payment to the members of WASPAN, who are being owed.
NCC gave Globacom a 30-day ultimatum.
The 30 days ultimatum expired on October 15 without Globacom complying with any of the directives of the NCC.
In an internal memo made available to Society Reporters NG, Globacom was said to be owing the vendors N805,022,709 as at December 2014, which remains unpaid till date.
Yet, the service providers said they have not been paid since February 2013.
In another memo cited by us, Adenuga authorised payment to the service providers.
But this is also yet to be complied with.
Even at that, the amount approved for payment from the debt was N208,974,917.
The management of Globacom is claiming that it can only pay a maximum of N200 million to vendors at any time.
Based on the contract signed with the vendors, Globacom earns 80 per cent of the revenue on Value Added Services, while the vendors earn 20 per cent.
Globacom is believed to have made not less than N11.2 billion from the Value Added Services rendered by the vendors.
A member of WASPAN said on the development: “We believe Globacom is relying on its existence as a Nigerian company to influence the decision of the regulatory body as it has done in past dispensations.
“Even the second letter written to Globacom has not made Globacom to pay up because they wrote back to NCC saying that they are working on the payments.
“Globacom is just out to kill Nigerian companies.
“Globacom cannot claim to be verifying the authenticity of the figures because the internal memo by the Marketing Department’s Accountant, Head of Revenue Assurance Department, Head of Internal Audit, the Director of Finance and the Director of Treasury showed that work on the revenue accruable to us had been finalised.”
Efforts to reach the spokesmen of the company since Monday did not succeed.