Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has called for the “total occupation” of MTN Nigeria over what he described as persistent service failures.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a post shared on his official X account on Thursday, Sowore criticised the telecom giant for recurring issues such as unexplained data depletion and frequent dropped calls, despite its dominant position in Nigeria’s telecom sector.
He referenced a 2026 report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which shows MTN controls 51.8 percent of the country’s 182 million telecom subscribers. This places it far ahead of competitors including Airtel Nigeria (34.1 percent), Globacom (12.3 percent), and 9mobile (1.8 percent).
“Why MTN must face total occupation by Nigerians! They dominate Nigeria’s telecom space but operate with reckless disregard for their customers. Data vanishes without explanation, calls fail repeatedly, and accountability is nonexistent. MTN is totally and irreversibly irresponsible,” Sowore wrote.
Mixed Reactions Trail Call
Sowore’s remarks sparked widespread reactions online, with many users expressing frustration over poor service delivery, while others disagreed with his proposed approach.
One user, Olu of Rage, acknowledged the issues but argued for regulatory solutions instead of mass action.
“I feel the frustration from MTN’s service issues (vanishing data, failed calls) are real and unacceptable for Nigeria’s biggest network. But ‘total occupation’ isn’t the answer. Stronger regulation, real enforcement by NCC, and genuine competition will serve customers better than government takeover. Let’s push for accountability, not occupation,” he wrote.
Another user, Viasgris, questioned why Globacom has not leveraged its infrastructure advantage to compete more effectively.
“With the Glo1 cable, Glo should be the one holding the largest share of the internet space. Sadly, I don’t know what they are actually doing towards internet services stability,” he said, suggesting the company could learn from the expansion strategy of the Dangote Group.
Others pointed to broader systemic issues. A user identified as Mani argued that governance challenges should take priority, while Trende Oracle warned about the risks of dominance by a single operator in a weakly regulated environment.
Several users also shared personal experiences, including complaints about rapid data depletion and unreliable connectivity. One commenter, Benald Best, said he switched networks after repeated frustrations, while John Emodi attributed MTN’s performance to limited competition in the sector.
“MTN understands there is not much telecom competition in Nigeria because the citizens overwhelmingly depend on their services. We really need different internet service providers to step up and offset this imbalance. Even the government is complicit for tolerating their activities,” Emodi wrote.
The debate highlights growing public dissatisfaction with telecom services in Nigeria and renewed calls for stronger oversight and increased competition in the industry.
