By Juliet Umeh
Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, has declared that MTN Nigeria is “a Nigerian company through and through,” 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.
Toriola also defended the Federal Government’s approval of telecom tariff adjustments, saying the decision rescued the industry from financial collapse and enabled MTN to increase capital expenditure to about N1 trillion in 2025 to improve network quality.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, 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.
