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MTN Nigeria's CEO, Karl Toriola, warns that banks could face disconnection from USSD services due to rising debts totaling N250 billion. He urges for urgent tariff adjustments to prevent dire consequences for the telecom industry, which is currently struggling with unsustainable financial pressures and rising operational costs.

Karl Toriola, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria, has raised alarms over the significant debt owed by banks for using the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) platform, which has now reached N250 billion. This alarming situation could lead to banks being disconnected from USSD services, which are vital for conducting various financial transactions, including cash transfers and balance inquiries.

Toriola explained that the increasing debt is unsustainable for telecommunications companies (telcos). In 2019, telcos sought to charge banks N4.50 for every 20 seconds of USSD usage, but banks opposed this, claiming it would drastically hike transaction costs. In response to mounting pressures, the operators previously agreed to a new charge of N6.98 per transaction in 2021. Despite this, the debt has escalated significantly, with Toriola urging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to mediate for a resolution.

He emphasized that if the situation remains unresolved, telcos may have no choice but to seek regulatory approval to cut off banks from USSD services entirely. Toriola lamented that the telecom sector is in critical condition, likening it to being in the “intensive care unit.” He warned of dire consequences if the government does not allow necessary tariff adjustments, stating, "If the tariff doesn’t go up, we’ll shut down.”