Johannesburg - MTN Group executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, who returned to lead the African wireless company’s negotiations over a record $3.9 billion (R57.8bn) fine in Nigeria, is moving forward with plans to step down next month, according to a person familiar with the matter, a sign that he is confident a resolution will be reached by then.
Nhleko would not return to a non-executive role before he came to an agreement with the Nigerian attorney-general, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans were private.
Read: MTN faces more woes in Nigeria
The chairman took the executive position on a six-month basis in November to “proactively deal” with Nigerian authorities after chief executive Sifiso Dabengwa resigned, Nhleko said at the time.
The plan for an on-time departure provides a ray of clarity, however thin, into a murky, months-long crisis that has gutted the share value of MTN by one-third.
Top priority
Getting it solved has been the top priority of Nhleko,who ran MTN as chief executive for almost nine years until 2011.
The company proposed a $1.5bn package last month that included 150 billion naira (R11bn) in cash alongside other incentives.
The Nigerian government has not formally responded, though some legislators have called for even bigger fines.
MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesman for the Nigerian attorney-general said he was preparing a statement.
MTN was hit by the penalty in October for missing a government-imposed deadline to disconnect 5.1 million subscribers who had been declared unregistered following a crackdown on security.
Fine reduced
The fine was later reduced by 25 percent from an original $5.2bn. While the lower amount equates to almost three times MTN’s 2015 net income, a spokesman for the west African country’s House of Representatives said last month that the original levy should be doubled to $10bn.
MTN shares have declined 33 percent since the penalty was made public on October 26, valuing the company at R236bn. The shares gained 0.54 percent to close at R129.46 on the JSE yesterday.
Nigeria has been fighting an Islamist insurgency led by the Boko Haram group, who have killed at least 20 000 people in their campaign to bring Sharia law to Africa’s largest economy. MTN is Nigeria’s largest cellphone firm with more than 61 million subscribers, about a third of the population.
BLOOMBERG