MTN Nigeria Communications Plc says it paid a staggering N764.2 billion in taxes and levies to the Nigerian government in 2024, a figure that towers over contributions from many key sectors of the economy and underscores a growing reliance on the telecoms industry as Nigeria’s primary fiscal lifeline.

The payment, detailed in the company’s 2024 Sustainability Report, marks a 40.5% increase from the N543.9 billion the company paid in 2023. While the telecom giant has routinely appeared among the top corporate taxpayers in the country, this surge in contribution in a year marked by rising inflation, currency devaluation, and dwindling oil revenues — underlines more than just corporate resilience. It reflects a deepening structural shift in Nigeria’s economic foundation.

Telecoms have quietly edged oil and gas in terms of consistency and reliability of fiscal remittances. For years, Nigeria’s economic lifeblood was crude oil. However, with crude exports plagued by theft, declining global demand, and OPEC quotas, the government has increasingly turned to telecom operators and financial institutions to fill revenue gaps.

Among them, MTN has emerged as the standout performer. Its N764.2 billion tax contribution in 2024 not only sets a new record but places the company above some major oil producers operating in Nigeria — many of whom have been criticized for underreporting and evading full tax liabilities through complex fiscal arrangements and regulatory loopholes.

While some multinational oil firms and banks still contribute sizeable amounts, none has matched MTN’s transparency and upward trend. Even the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) figures, though larger, are often shrouded in controversy and represent revenue from sales of state assets rather than pure taxation.

This explains why the telecom sector has increasingly become Nigeria’s economic cash cow. It’s a reputation many believe directly influenced the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) decision to approve a 50% hike in telecom tariffs earlier this year.

The rationale behind the increase, regulators said, was to help telecom firms manage rising operational costs. But sources familiar with the discussions say it also aligned with the government’s broader fiscal strategy — to squeeze more revenue from performing sectors while offsetting the collapse of oil-driven income.

MTN’s Strategic Expansion

Beyond fiscal contributions, MTN’s newly released sustainability report offers a broader view of the company’s activities in 2024. CEO Karl Toriola emphasized that MTN’s growth was anchored on a framework of long-term value creation.

“We have increased female representation in our workforce to 41.4%, empowered local businesses by directing 59.6% of our spend to local suppliers, contributed N764 billion in taxes and levies to support national development, and invested N3.5 billion in Corporate Social Investment initiatives, positively impacting over 663,300 lives,” Toriola said.

“These efforts reflect our unwavering dedication to long-term value creation and building a more connected, sustainable future,” he added.

The company also claimed to have achieved 93% network coverage across Nigeria and reduced its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 11% from its 2021 baseline, a significant feat in an industry with a heavy environmental footprint.

Other notable initiatives include:

• 194 new solar-powered rural sites, enhancing connectivity and reducing dependence on diesel generators.
• Eco-friendly SIM card launch, making MTN the first telecom operator in West Africa to take this step.
• A 159% jump in capital expenditure (CAPEX) in Q1 2025, with ?202.4 billion invested to expand network capacity.

MTN’s Profit Turnaround

MTN’s profitability in early 2025 marked a significant turnaround after a string of quarterly losses brought on by the naira’s free fall and inflationary shocks. A major driver of this rebound was the tariff increase approved by the NCC, a controversial but, in hindsight, an effective measure that allowed the company to recoup escalating operating costs — including diesel, FX costs, and hardware imports.

The regulatory decision drew mixed reactions. Consumer advocates criticized it as tone-deaf amid widespread economic hardship.

In the report, MTN also highlighted its continued investment in grassroots development through the MTN Foundation. According to Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services & Sustainability Officer, the company’s flagship program “What Can We Do Together” has transformed community infrastructure in health, education, and water access across hundreds of towns since its inception in 2015.

“Since its launch in September 2015, this initiative has transformed lives and contributed to grassroot development across Nigeria,” Okigbo added.

App developers have long complained about the “walled garden” that Apple and Google maintain around their mobile ecosystems, but now they may have found the pressure valve they’ve been seeking.

A newly formed coalition – led by Meta, Spotify, Garmin, Match Group, and others – is taking aim at what it calls the “duopoly” that governs mobile app distribution. And its campaign may be gaining traction just as Apple finds itself in deeper legal trouble than previously anticipated.

The Coalition for a Competitive Mobile Experience, officially announced this week, has set out with the goal of challenging what it sees as unfair dominance by Apple and Google over how mobile apps are distributed, monetized, and regulated. Initial advocacy efforts are focused on pushing app stores to take over age verification responsibilities – a move currently left to individual developers. But the coalition’s ambitions are much broader: to dismantle platform favoritism, demand open payment systems, and back antitrust investigations and lawsuits against the tech giants.

The timing of the coalition’s launch coincided with a stinging federal court ruling against Apple. On Wednesday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found Apple in contempt of court for deliberately circumventing a 2021 injunction that was meant to prevent anticompetitive behavior in its App Store policies.

According to the judge, Apple knowingly continued imposing commission fees – up to 27% – on purchases made through links that directed users to developers’ own websites. These purchases were explicitly meant to bypass Apple’s in-app payment system, which takes a 30% cut. The court found that Apple’s workaround wasn’t just non-compliant but intentionally designed to preserve what had already been ruled an anticompetitive revenue stream.

“Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated,” Judge Rogers wrote in a scathing opinion. “That it thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation… As always, the cover-up made it worse. For this court, there is no second bite at the apple.”

The judge also ordered Apple to immediately stop collecting commissions on out-of-app transactions and pay Epic Games’ legal fees, after determining that the company lied under oath and withheld critical internal documentation.

In a particularly damning passage, Rogers said Apple Vice President of Finance Alex Roman “outright lied under oath” when he testified that the company hadn’t determined what fee to apply until January 2024. Internal evidence later revealed that Apple not only considered its fee structure much earlier but also knowingly set the rate just above the cost developers would incur by setting up their own payment systems, making Apple’s “discount” illusory.

The judge accused Apple of abusing privilege protections to hide records of a June 2023 executive meeting that included CEO Tim Cook. The documents, only recently submitted to the court, allegedly revealed how Apple executives strategized on maintaining revenue while giving the illusion of compliance with the earlier ruling.

“This evidence shows a desire to conceal Apple’s real decision-making process,” Rogers wrote, “particularly where those decisions involved senior Apple executives.”

The ruling is a dramatic escalation in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games, which began in 2020 when Apple removed Epic’s popular game Fortnite from the App Store after Epic introduced a direct payment option that bypassed Apple’s cut. That case led to the 2021 injunction ordering Apple to allow developers to direct users to external purchasing options. Apple’s attempts to blunt the impact of that ruling have now landed it in deeper legal jeopardy, with possible criminal contempt charges now under consideration by U.S. attorneys.

In response, Apple said it “strongly disagrees with the decision” but will comply and appeal. Meanwhile, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney declared victory, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “No fees on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax.” Sweeney said Fortnite will return to the U.S. iOS App Store next week and may reappear globally if Apple expands the new framework worldwide.

The court’s ruling significantly boosts the new coalition’s efforts. For years, developers large and small have struggled to challenge Apple and Google on their own. Now, with legal precedent turning against Apple, the coalition is betting that its unified voice can force regulatory and legislative changes.

Brandon Kressin, the coalition’s director and a seasoned antitrust attorney, told Bloomberg that many smaller developers are fearful of retaliation or simply lack the resources to take on Apple or Google alone.

“There’s power in numbers, especially when going up against companies as powerful as the duopoly,” he said.

The coalition has already thrown its weight behind new laws, such as Utah’s statute requiring app stores, not individual developers, to handle age verification. It’s also backing broader federal efforts to curtail Big Tech dominance and is expected to support the Department of Justice’s ongoing antitrust lawsuits against both Apple and Google.

For Apple, the contempt ruling may only be the beginning. The company is already under growing scrutiny from U.S. and European regulators, with multiple cases focusing on whether it unfairly promotes its own services and limits developer freedom. The latest setback not only reinforces existing concerns about Apple’s conduct but also raises serious questions about its internal compliance culture.

The coalition is positioning itself to be more than just a lobbying group – it’s aiming to be a catalyst for change in an industry that has long operated under tightly controlled terms dictated by the very platforms developers rely on. With Epic’s partial victory, increasing bipartisan momentum in Washington, and now a federal judge openly accusing Apple of deception, the momentum seems to be shifting.