The Vice Chairman of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has warned that several domestic airlines could cease operations within the next 30 days unless the Federal Government urgently intervenes in the challenges confronting the aviation industry.

Mr Onyema said the industry is facing an existential crisis driven by high operating costs and multiple financial obligations.

He spoke on Wednesday in Lagos at the launch of Pathways, Pilgrimage & Destiny: The Biography of Alhaji Muneer Bankole, the biography of the founder of Med-View Airline.

“Going into aviation is not a piece of cake. It is an industry that is not very rewarding. It is capital-intensive, yet less rewarding. Today, we are facing a phase that poses existential threats. Except something drastic is done very quickly within the next 30 days, a lot of airlines might go extinct,” Mr Onyema said.

His warning comes amid renewed concerns among Nigerian airline operators over the cost of aviation fuel, multiple regulatory charges, access to financing and the financial obligations imposed on carriers.

Mr Onyema also criticised the planned picketing of airlines by aviation unions over the non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC), warning that such action could trigger a wider disruption in domestic air travel.

He said airlines would support one another if any carrier were picketed.

“If they picket any airline, others will go because there’s no need for that. There is nowhere in the world that government agencies use unions to talk about issues of debt.”

The five per cent TSC is a statutory charge collected by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on tickets originating from Nigeria. The authority says the charge is collected under the Civil Aviation Act and shared with other aviation agencies, including the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.

The NCAA has also acknowledged challenges surrounding the timely remittance of the charge.

In February, the authority met with AON regarding its requirement that airlines provide advance payment guarantees to ensure the timely remittance of the statutory charge.

The NCAA said the measure was intended to safeguard funds collected from passengers and improve the predictability of funding for aviation agencies. It subsequently deferred implementation of the requirement for 90 days to allow operators to regularise outstanding remittances.

Mr Onyema, however, argued that the financial burden on airlines needed to be addressed through a broader review of government charges and the industry’s operating environment.

“The airlines are not against helping the government generate revenue. But no airline in the world is taxed directly for revenue. The airlines indirectly provide revenue for the government,” he said.

Rising cost pressures

Mr Onyema explained that the industry’s difficulties were not limited to the TSC, citing the capital-intensive nature of airline operations and the high costs of aircraft maintenance and daily operations.

He said the survival of airlines required urgent government action rather than measures that could further increase their financial burden.

“Everybody pities Nigerian airlines, yet nobody wants to do anything about their situation,” he said.

He added that the industry’s history showed how difficult it had been for domestic carriers to remain in business over the long term, noting that more than 50 airlines had exited the Nigerian market over the years.

AON has previously cited the collapse of more than 50 Nigerian airlines over a three-decade period as evidence of the industry’s long-standing financial difficulties.

The sector has continued to face pressure from rising aviation fuel costs, foreign exchange challenges, aircraft maintenance expenses and financing costs.

In June, Mr Onyema warned that airlines were borrowing from banks to purchase aviation fuel and reducing flight frequencies to limit losses. He also called for a review of aviation taxes and charges, particularly the five per cent TSC.

More recently, he said many operators had been forced to scale back operations due to the rising cost of keeping aircraft in service. He also warned that the financial pressure could lead to further airline failures.

Calls for government intervention

Mr Onyema’s latest warning adds to growing calls by airline operators for the government to review the financial and regulatory environment in which domestic carriers operate.

READ ALSO: Nigerian airlines now depend on bank loans as fuel costs soar — Onyema

The AON has previously sought direct engagement with President Bola Tinubu over aviation taxes and charges, arguing that the cumulative burden was undermining the viability of domestic airlines.

Mr Onyema called for an aviation taxes and charges review committee in June to examine the various levies imposed on airlines and recommend measures to improve the industry’s sustainability.

The debate comes as the government continues to defend aviation-sector reforms and the need for airlines to meet their statutory obligations.

The NCAA has said that the five per cent TSC is not an arbitrary levy but a statutory charge collected from passengers and remitted through airlines to fund key aviation agencies.

For airlines, however, the issue is part of a wider concern about the cost of doing business in an industry where aircraft acquisition, maintenance, fuel and financing are largely dollar-denominated.

Mr Onyema said that unless urgent measures were taken to address the pressures facing operators, more airlines could be forced out of business.

South Africa’s MTN Group has moved a significant step closer to acquiring IHS Holding Limited after shareholders of the tower infrastructure company approved the proposed takeover, advancing one of the largest digital infrastructure transactions in Africa’s telecommunications industry.

The approval, secured during an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of IHS shareholders on Tuesday, marks a major milestone in MTN’s ambition to integrate one of Africa’s largest independent telecoms tower companies into its operations. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals across relevant jurisdictions before it can be completed.

According to regulatory filings seen by Technology Times, the shareholder vote follows the agreement announced in February this year under which MTN proposed acquiring the outstanding shares of IHS Towers that it does not already own, bringing the tower company fully into the MTN Group.

MTN Group reckons that taking ownership of such vital telecoms infrastructure advances its future competitiveness across the continent of Africa where the group serves voice, data, fintech, digital, enterprise, wholesale and API offerings to over 312.7 million customers in 19 markets. 

IHS Towers takeover extends beyond expansion

For MTN Group, which owns MTN Nigeria, the nation’s largest mobile network operator, the deal extends beyond corporate expansion. It reflects the South African mobile operator’s long-term strategy to strengthen ownership of digital infrastructure that underpins mobile connectivity, cloud services, artificial intelligence (AI) applications and future digital economies across Africa.

Announcing the latest development, the South African telecoms giant described the shareholder approval as an important milestone towards completing the transaction.

Ralph Mupita, President and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, said the approval reinforces the company’s long-term strategic direction under its Ambition 2030 programme, where infrastructure has become increasingly central to future value creation.

According to Mupita, telecoms towers have evolved beyond passive infrastructure to become strategic digital assets capable of supporting Africa’s next phase of economic growth, particularly as AI-driven services, cloud computing and data-intensive applications continue to expand. 

MTN Group reckons that taking ownership of such vital telecoms infrastructure advances its future competitiveness across the continent of Africa where the group serves voice, data, fintech, digital, enterprise, wholesale and API offerings to over 312.7 million customers in 19 markets. 

The telecoms group believes bringing MTN’s extensive mobile network together with IHS’s tower portfolio will strengthen operational efficiencies while providing greater flexibility to invest in next-generation digital infrastructure.

A strategic infrastructure play

Industry analysts view the acquisition as one of the most strategically significant telecoms transactions on the continent in recent years.

Historically, African mobile operators separated tower ownership from network operations by selling infrastructure assets to specialist tower companies. The model allowed operators to reduce capital expenditure while tower companies generated returns by leasing infrastructure to multiple mobile network operators.

Over the past decade, IHS Towers emerged as one of Africa’s largest independent tower operators through acquisitions and long-term infrastructure investments across several markets.

IHS Towers says it owns and operates over 37,000 telecoms towers across Africa and Latin America supporting mobile operators throughout Africa and selected international markets, making it one of the world’s largest independent tower infrastructure businesses. With operations in seven countries, its local operation, IHS Nigeria counts about 15,848 sites delivering connectivity to the nation’s digital population counting over 190 million phone subscribers and more than 157 million internet subscribers.

“We are one of the largest independent tower operators globally by tower count,” IHS says on its website, “the leader in five of our markets and the only independent multinational operator in three of these markets.” 

For MTN, however, changing technology dynamics are reshaping the economics of infrastructure ownership. The explosive growth in mobile broadband usage, 5G deployment, edge computing, fibre expansion and AI-enabled digital services has increased the strategic importance of physical infrastructure.

Rather than viewing towers solely as passive assets, operators increasingly regard them as platforms supporting broader digital ecosystems that include cloud services, enterprise connectivity, fintech, Internet of Things (IoT) deployments and AI workloads.

MTN’s latest move therefore reflects a broader shift in global telecoms strategy, where infrastructure ownership is once again becoming an important competitive differentiator.

IHS Towers says it owns and operates over 37,000 telecoms towers across Africa and Latin America supporting mobile operators throughout Africa and selected international markets, making it one of the world’s largest independent tower infrastructure businesses. With operations in seven countries, its local operation, IHS Nigeria counts about 15,848 sites delivering connectivity to the nation’s digital population counting over 190 million phone subscribers and more than 157 million internet subscribers.

IHS Towers shareholders back MTN takeover

At the August 4 Extraordinary General Meeting, IHS shareholders approved the merger proposal through the required special resolution.

According to the company’s regulatory filings, shareholders representing more than 264 million ordinary shares participated in person or by proxy, constituting the quorum required for the meeting.

The principal resolution authorised the merger agreement, the associated plan of merger and the actions required by directors and officers to implement the transaction once remaining conditions are satisfied.

A secondary procedural proposal relating to adjournment of the meeting became unnecessary after shareholders approved the principal resolution.

The outcome satisfies one of the major conditions required before the transaction can proceed to completion.

Regulatory scrutiny remains

Despite the shareholder endorsement, the acquisition is not yet complete. The transaction must still receive approvals from competition authorities, telecoms regulators and other relevant government agencies in jurisdictions where both companies operate.

Such reviews are common for transactions involving critical communications infrastructure because regulators assess their impact on market competition, national security, infrastructure resilience and consumer welfare.

Neither MTN nor IHS has indicated when all regulatory processes are expected to conclude.

Industry observers expect authorities to examine the implications for tower sharing, infrastructure access by competing operators and the continued availability of neutral infrastructure services.

Implications for Nigeria

The proposed acquisition carries particular significance for Nigeria, one of the largest telecoms markets in Africa.

IHS originated in Nigeria and remains one of the country’s most prominent digital infrastructure companies, supporting mobile network operations through an extensive portfolio of telecoms towers.

“Nigeria is the largest mobile communications market in Africa. IHS Towers began in Nigeria in 2001, and remains our largest market today,” the company says on its website. “The company started as a provider of site build services for mobile network operators in Nigeria, but has gone on to develop deep expertise in all aspects of telecom towers. Today, IHS and its subsidiaries in Nigeria manage over 16,000 sites. We operate from our head office in Lagos but have regional offices in Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Asaba, Kano and Port Harcourt.”  

MTN Nigeria is also the country’s largest mobile network operator by subscriber base and currently serves about 97 million subscribers with 51% share of the mobile telephony market. 

Although the acquisition is being executed at the parent company level, the transaction could eventually influence future infrastructure investment strategies within Nigeria.

Greater integration between network operations and tower management may accelerate network expansion into underserved communities, improve operational efficiency and support increasing demand for mobile broadband capacity.

Industry stakeholders also expect continued investment in energy-efficient tower operations, fibre connectivity and infrastructure capable of supporting future AI-enabled telecommunications services.

Infrastructure becomes central to AI

The proposed acquisition comes as artificial intelligence increasingly influences telecommunications investment decisions worldwide.

Modern AI applications require dense, resilient and highly connected infrastructure capable of transporting and processing large volumes of data with minimal latency.

Telecoms towers, fibre networks, edge computing facilities and data centres therefore form critical components of the AI ecosystem.

MTN has increasingly emphasised that digital infrastructure will become a major driver of long-term shareholder value as Africa’s digital economies mature.

Its Ambition 2030 strategy places significant emphasis on expanding connectivity, digital platforms, financial technology services and infrastructure investments designed to support future economic growth.

The acquisition of IHS fits squarely within that strategic direction.

Changing economics of telecoms infrastructure

The African telecoms industry has experienced significant structural transformation over the past two decades. During the rapid expansion of mobile services, operators invested heavily in building nationwide infrastructure.

Subsequently, many operators sold tower assets to specialist infrastructure companies to improve balance sheets and reduce operational complexity. Tower companies then expanded by leasing infrastructure to multiple operators, creating more efficient utilisation of assets.

Today, however, digital transformation is altering that equation.

Network infrastructure is becoming increasingly integrated with cloud computing, enterprise digital services, AI platforms and edge processing capabilities.

As connectivity evolves from voice and mobile broadband toward intelligent digital ecosystems, ownership of infrastructure is once again assuming strategic importance.

MTN’s proposed acquisition reflects this changing landscape.

Investor confidence

The shareholder approval also signals investor confidence in the long-term industrial logic of combining network operations with infrastructure ownership.

Although regulatory reviews remain, the decisive approval removes one of the largest uncertainties surrounding the transaction.

Investors will now focus on regulatory timelines, integration planning and the financial implications once the acquisition closes.

For MTN shareholders, successful completion would further strengthen the group’s position as an integrated digital infrastructure provider serving consumers, enterprises and governments across multiple African markets.

The road ahead

Completion of the acquisition would create one of the continent’s most vertically integrated telecommunications businesses, combining mobile connectivity with extensive infrastructure ownership.

The transaction also underscores a broader trend reshaping Africa’s digital economy, where telecoms companies are evolving into technology and digital infrastructure platforms supporting AI, cloud services, fintech, enterprise connectivity and digital public infrastructure.

For policymakers, investors and the wider technology ecosystem, the deal highlights the growing recognition that digital infrastructure is becoming as strategically important to Africa’s future as transport, power and other traditional infrastructure sectors.

With shareholder approval now secured, attention shifts to regulators whose decisions will determine whether one of Africa’s most consequential telecoms transactions proceeds to completion.

If approved, the acquisition is expected to reshape the competitive dynamics of digital infrastructure across the continent and reinforce MTN’s ambition to play a leading role in building Africa’s AI-enabled digital future.