"We are in a big crisis," he said. MTNN's core capex spending fell by 27.79 percent to N217.64 billion from N301.38 billion year-on-year (y-o-y). "Excluding leases, our core capex declined by 27.8 percent, resulting in a capex intensity of 9.8 percent on this basis. The optimisation of core capex enabled us to accelerate the reduction of forex exposure arising from our LC-backed obligations and its impact on the business," MTNN said. Airtel Nigeria's capex fell 36.59 percent to $149 million in the first nine months of 2024 from $235 million in the corresponding period of 2023. "Operating free cash flow was $163 million, up by 73.7 percent in constant currency, largely due to the constant currency EBITDA growth and lower capex while in reported currency," Airtel said. This slowdown coincides with reduced revenue earnings for Airtel and reported losses for MTNN.