MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola’s Weekly Earnings Emerges as MoMo Moves to New Platform

• MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola earned about ₦18.3 billion in 2021 and 2025, at today’s exchange rate
• Toriola’s 2025 remuneration rose to about ₦4.61 billion, driven largely by performance bonuses, long-term incentives and expanded responsibilities
• MTN Nigeria is moving MoMo customers to a new platform as it seeks to strengthen its mobile payments business

Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.

MTN Nigeria's Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, received a combined R226.46 million in remuneration between 2021 and 2025, placing him among the highly compensated executives in Africa's telecommunications industry.

The amount, disclosed in MTN Group's integrated reports and executive remuneration records, translates to an average of R871,000 weekly over five years.

The revelation comes as MTN Nigeria continues restructuring its financial technology operations, including migrating customers of its MoMo payment service to a new platform.

However, Toriola's earnings represent total remuneration, including salary, performance bonuses and long-term incentives, rather than a fixed weekly salary.

MTN Nigeria CEO earns about ₦70m weekly

Using the November 3, 2026, exchange rate of approximately ₦80.79 to one South African rand, Toriola's five-year remuneration amounts to roughly ₦18.3 billion.

His average earnings translate to approximately ₦70.37 million weekly, ₦304.6 million monthly and ₦3.66 billion annually.

The conversion uses today's exchange rate rather than historical rates for each payment year.

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MTN's remuneration disclosures show that Toriola received the equivalent of approximately ₦4.04 billion in 2021, ₦3.50 billion in 2022 and ₦3.29 billion in 2023.

His compensation declined further to approximately ₦2.86 billion in 2024 before rebounding sharply to ₦4.61 billion in 2025.

Why MTN increased Toriola's salary

Toriola became MTN Nigeria's CEO in 2021 after serving as the group's vice-president for West and Central Africa.

In April 2022, his gross salary increased by 14%, followed by another 9.38% adjustment in October.

MTN explained that the increases followed an independent remuneration review comparing his compensation with executives at Nigeria's largest listed companies.

In 2023, he received a 16% inflation-linked increase on the naira component of his salary and a 3.5% adjustment on the dollar component.

However, the naira's depreciation affected the value of his remuneration when converted into South African rand.

MTN CEO receives biggest payout

Toriola recorded his highest remuneration in 2025, receiving approximately ₦4.61 billion at today's exchange rate.

The increase was largely driven by performance-related bonuses and long-term incentive awards, supported by MTN Group's improved share price.

His responsibilities also expanded in November 2025 when he became vice-president for Francophone Africa while retaining his position as MTN Nigeria CEO.

The additional responsibilities prompted another remuneration review and a revised dollar-based compensation arrangement.

Nigerian monarch's son leads MTN

Beyond telecommunications, Toriola has a notable traditional background.

Born in Ile-Ife, Osun State, he grew up in Modakeke, where his father, Toriola Olubiyi, became the 20th Ogunsua of Modakeke in 2022.

He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1994 with a degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering before obtaining a master's degree from the University of Wales.

He joined MTN Nigeria in 2006 as chief technical officer and subsequently occupied several senior management positions.

MTN moves MoMo to new platform

The remuneration figures emerge as MTN Nigeria works to strengthen its fintech business through the migration of MoMo customers to a new technology platform.

The transition forms part of efforts to improve operational efficiency and support future growth in digital financial services.

For Nigerian customers, the migration represents another stage in MTN's push to expand beyond traditional voice and data services into mobile payments.

The development also places renewed attention on executive compensation as the telecommunications company navigates currency pressures, competition and changing consumer demand.

Editor's note: All naira equivalents are approximate, calculated at ₦80.79/R1 on November 3, 2026. They are not the actual naira amounts paid in the respective years.

MTN moves MoMo to new platform

Legit.ng earlier reported that MTN Nigeria has begun moving customers of its mobile money service, MoMo, to a new digital payment platform as its financial technology business struggles to recover from a sharp revenue decline.

The telecom giant reported a 25.91% drop in fintech revenue to ₦97.5 billion in the nine months ended September 2026, following the temporary suspension of its popular airtime and data credit service, Xtratime.