The Nigerian central bank may alter the amount it has ordered South African telecoms firm MTN to repatriate as part of a dispute, central bank governor Godwin Emefiele said on Sunday.
“I don’t think it will be staying at $8.1 billion,” Emefiele said during a visit to London. “This issue will be dealt with amicably and equitably.”
Emefiele said the central bank had received documents from MTN and four banks involved in the case. “The central bank will be examining these, then it will be escalated up to my level,” he said.
He said he expected to get the results in a couple of weeks.
The central bank filed a counter-claim on Friday to a court request by MTN, which is seeking to stop the bank from forcing it to bring back the money, according to MTN’s lawyer.
Emefiele also said Nigeria’s central bank would continue to intervene in the foreign exchange markets, adding that he believed in a stable exchange rate regime. Nigeria’s current stance of monetary tightening would continue, he said.