- During the recent public hearing on "a Bill to regulate corporate social responsibility in Nigeria," Rep. Oby Orogbu, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), said MTN and Airtel may be sanctioned for failing to honour invitations.
- The Chairman added that the telcos have repeatedly ignored invitations from the committee to brief them on their CSR initiatives.
- According to him, the telcos leave the committee no choice but to deploy its powers by issuing a warrant of arrest. However, a final warning was given to MTN and Airtel to honour the committee’s invite or face the arrest warrant.
The CSR bill aims to penalise Nigerian companies that neglect corporate social responsibility, which is integral to ethical corporate governance and societal benefit.
The Chairman noted that the move is premised on Section 89(1)(c) of the Constitution, which mandates individual companies to make themselves available to parliament when invited. Hence, ignoring the invite is breaking the law.
She deemed not appearing as requested an act of disrespect, stating that the telcos feel too important to appear before parliament despite taking so much from the nation.
MTN Nigeria in Q1 2024 made over ₦700 billion in revenue, an increase from the ₦568.1 billion in revenue generated in Q1 2023, but incurred ₦656.4 billion in net foreign exchange losses due to macroeconomic factors such as exchange rate and naira depreciation.
On the other hand, Airtel Africa's financial statement for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, showed an $89 million loss after tax, blamed on naira instability, as well as $770 million in FX losses due to the naira's devaluation. Airtel Nigeria reported $1.50 billion in revenue, a decrease from the $2.13 billion reported in FY 22/23.
Orogbu noted that some companies operating in the country have violated the existing law, hence the need for punishment to be imposed on them.
However, some stakeholders are concerned about aspects of the bill, including the proposed imprisonment penalties, while others in the oil industry seek exemption due to existing obligations mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
