The Group chief executive officer of telecommunications giant MTN, Mr Sifiso Dabengwa, has tendered a letter of immediate resignation over a $5.2 billion fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the Nigerian branch of the company.
According to Reuters, Sifiso Dabengwa will be replaced by non-executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko for a maximum of six months, Africa’s biggest mobile phone company said in a statement.
MTN was fined in October by the Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator, NCC, for failing to cut off users with unregistered SIM cards and failing to provide registration information for certain lines that were traced to terrorist group, Boko Haram.
Dabengwa resigned over the weekend after consultation with the board and his financial compensation has not been resolved, MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng told Bloomberg.
“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect,”Dabengwa said in the statement.
MTN has until November 16 to pay the fine imposed by the NCC, which relates to the timing of the disconnection of 5.1 million subscribers and is based on a charge of 200,000 naira ($1,008) for each unregistered customer. The company’s shares lost almost a quarter of their value following the disclosure of the fine, before a partial recovery.
The stand-in Group CEO Nhleko on Monday said, “I proactively deal with the Nigerian regulator and will continue to work with them in addressing the issues around unregistered subscribers as a matter of urgency.”
MTN will continue to inform shareholders of any material engagements with the Nigerian authorities, the company said.
No comments:
Post a Comment