The House of Representatives has called for the immediate suspension of the 50% hike in telecoms tariff. The lawmakers in making the call, ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, to suspend the tariff increase
By Emma Ogbuehi
The House of Representatives has called for the immediate suspension of the 50% hike in telecoms tariff. The lawmakers in making the call, ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, to suspend the tariff increase because of the economic hardship in the country.
The House also decried the poor service delivery from telecom operators and insisted that an increase in tariff should not happen until service improves. The demand followed a motion of urgent national importance by a member, Oboku Oforji, on Tuesday
This was as telecommunications operators in the country began the implementation of the new tariff regime earlier approved by the NCC.
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Many subscribers on social media who used the services of telecoms operators on Tuesday observed about 50% increase in the cost of calls, data and text messages. This medium had reported that Nigeria’s largest telecom operator, MTN, had already started implementation of the 50% per cent tariff increase as its data price had reflected the increment.
In January, the NCC said telephone subscribers in Nigeria would pay more for data and airtime as it approved a 50% tariff increase for telecoms operators in the country.
A spokesman for the regulator Reuben Muoka had said the price adjustment though lower than the “over 100% requested by some network operators, was arrived at taking into account ongoing industry reforms that will positively influence sustainability”.
The regulator had said the increase was pursuant to its power under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 (NCA) to regulate and approve tariff rates and charges by telecommunications operators.
Irked by the approval, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had threatened an industrial action, demanding a reversal of the hike but the labour unions aborted their rallies after last-minute talks with government representatives.
At his inauguration in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu, former Lagos governor, removed petrol subsidy and floated the naira. Petrol prices more than quadrupled, soaring from less than N200 per litre to over N1,100 in many parts of the country. The naira also took a nosedive, wobbling from around N700/$ to N1,600.
Food and commodity inflation as well as costs for service delivery, have skyrocketed, ever since.
