The federal government says telecommunications giant, MTN, has a payment plan with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to pay the tax remittance of two billion dollars.

Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning stated this during a visit of the Commandant of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Ayodele Adeleke, on Friday in Abuja.

“MTN is owing the government, but there has been a payment plan undertaken with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) they are following.

“They are in Nigeria and have investments all over the country and are following through with the payment commitment made with the FIRS,” Ms Ahmed said.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on January 8, 2020, withdrew a two-billion-dollar tax demand against the telecoms company, after two years of allegation from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) that the telecom company owed taxes from 2007 to 2017.

Evidence, however, showed that MTN had consistently paid its taxes to the Nigerian government. The company also announced it responded to the federal government’s call for public-private partnerships as part of its tax remittance in August.

The partnership included the rehabilitation of critical road infrastructure in Nigeria which involves the reconstruction of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.