Nigeria

MTN Nigeria agreed to pay the country’s government NGN330 billion ($1.67 billion) over three years to settle a high-stakes row that has been running for eight months.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that the country recorded a decline of N793.5bn in the first quarter merchandise trade to close at N2.72tn from N3.51tn in the fourth quarter of 2015, the first time in the last seven years.

Nigeria's central bank left its benchmark Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) unchanged at 12.0 percent, saying his was the "least risky option" at a time of stagflation when policy options are very limited.

Nigeria has reportedly suspended discussions with MTN over the record US$3.9billion fine imposed on the mobile operator’s subsidiary there while the country’s parliament investigates the size of the penalty and the way in which it was imposed.