The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Dr Karl Toriola, has defended the telecommunications company against calls for the Federal Government to revoke its operating licence following a surge of anti-foreigner and xenophobic violence targeting Nigerians and other immigrants in South Africa.
Toriola condemned all forms of xenophobia and violence but insisted that MTN Nigeria is fundamentally a Nigerian company with deep local ownership and investment.
“MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian company through and through,” he said, stressing that the telecom giant belongs as much to Nigerians as it does to its global investors, with over 11 million Nigerians indirectly owning stakes in the company through pension fund investments.
The MTN boss gave the reaction during his appearance on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines programme. Speaking during the interview, the MTN boss dismissed the notion that the company is solely South African, despite its origins.
According to him, MTN Nigeria is incorporated in Nigeria, listed on the Nigerian Exchange, pays taxes locally and is largely managed by Nigerians. “We are labelled as a South African company because MTN Group was founded in South Africa.
But the reality is that MTN Group has a very diverse global shareholding. “Only about 50 percent of the shareholding is African, while the rest is held by investors from North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific,” he said.
Focusing on MTN Nigeria, Toriola said the company has become deeply rooted in the country’s economy. “MTN Nigeria is a Nigerian company through and through. We are domiciled in Nigeria. We are listed on the Nigerian Exchange. “We pay all the taxes, duties and levies expected of us, and we are run by Nigerians. “I am Nigerian.
Apart from one executive, every member of our executive committee is Nigerian, while our entire expatriate workforce in Nigeria is just four people. “We have over 201,000 retail investors, while about 11 million Nigerians own MTN shares indirectly through pension funds. We are very proud of our Nigerian identity,” he stated.
On the recent telecom tariff adjustment, Toriola said the increase was not driven by the pursuit of higher profits but by the need to keep operators financially afloat. He said prior to the tariff review, operators could barely meet their monthly obligations.
“People perceived the tariff increase as an aspiration for profitability, but the reality was that we were on our knees financially. “We couldn’t even pay our month-to-month bills with the revenues we were generating. The tariff adjustment was an absolute necessity. It enabled us to stay alive,” he said.
According to him, the improved revenue position has enabled MTN to make aggressive investments to strengthen network capacity and enhance the customer experience. He disclosed that while MTN budgeted about N250 billion for capital expenditure in 2024, the company increased investments to about N1 trillion in 2025.
“In the first quarter of this year alone, we spent N390 billion on capital expenditure, compared with a profit after tax of N359 billion. “That shows our commitment to improving quality of service,” he said.
Responding to concerns over poor network quality, Toriola attributed the challenges to a combination of rising customer demand, infrastructure deficits, vandalism, insecurity and unreliable electricity supply.
He explained that operators continue to grapple with frequent fibre cuts caused by road construction, deliberate vandalism of telecom infrastructure and restricted access to network sites due to insecurity.
“There are people who deliberately pour petrol into our manholes and set them on fire. A single incident can knock out services for millions of subscribers. “We also face security challenges that prevent our engineers from accessing some sites quickly.
“In addition, we operate about 18,000 sites nationwide, each requiring generators, batteries, rectifiers and constant fuelling because of inadequate public electricity supply. “All these affect quality of service,” he explained.
While admitting that service quality is not yet where customers expect it to be, he assured subscribers that MTN would continue investing to improve network performance. “We are not perfect, but we are investing aggressively and continuously striving to do better,” he added.
On allegations that telecom operators deliberately consume customers’ data, Toriola said investigations consistently show that many instances are linked to automatic background activities on users’ smartphones.
According to him, applications such as Apple iCloud, WhatsApp and other cloud-based services often perform automatic backups using mobile data without users’ knowledge.
“There is a perception that MTN goes and takes customers’ data, but our studies have shown repeatedly that background applications are consuming much of that data. “I encourage customers to check their device settings.
Daily automatic backups are unnecessary for many users. If possible, carry out backups over Wi-Fi instead of mobile data,” he advised.
