MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, has defended the recent telecoms tariff increase, saying the company was on the verge of collapse before the adjustment was approved.
Toriola made the disclosure at a stakeholder engagement session themed ‘Data on Trial’, held in Lagos and hosted by television personality Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.He said the company could not meet its basic financial obligations at the time.
“At the point when the tariff increase was implemented, we practically could not pay our bills. There was not enough money coming into MTN’s accounts to pay for diesel, rent and software licences.
We were effectively bankrupt,” he said.Toriola added that the company had slipped into negative equity, describing it as technically insolvent. He warned that without the tariff hike, MTN would have been forced to shut down its network entirely.
On investment, he said MTN Nigeria spent N900bn on network expansion and maintenance in 2025 and plans to surpass N1tn in 2026. “We invest more in the expansion and maintenance of this company than we make in profits,” he said.
The MTN boss also attributed persistent network quality issues to vandalism and insecurity, noting that telecom infrastructure across the country faces frequent disruption. He maintained, however, that the company delivers services that meet global standards.
