African telecom giants, MTN, is seeking a further reduction in the fine imposed on it by Nigerian authorities.
MTN had been fined $5.2bn for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers from its network by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC.
However Nigerian authorities today slashed the fine by 30 percent to $3.2bn and gave the South African company Dec. 31 to pay up.
An NCC source told Reuters the decision to reduce the fine was taken by President Buhari’s office, which passed on the information to the NCC late on Wednesday.
But the reduced fine, if enforced, is still more than two times MTN’s average yearly capital expenditure of about $1.5 billion over the last five years and can still cause a lot of trouble for the company.
Although MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng declined to comment beyond the company’s statement, sources say the group will lobby for further reductions.
