The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, yesterday defended the decision to approve a 50 per cent tariff hike for telecom services, despite widespread backlash and legal threats from advocacy groups and subscribers.
Minister Tijani, who appeared before lawmakers to defend the ministry’s budget, explained that the tariff hike was driven by broader economic pressures, including rising inflation and the cost of imported goods, reports The PUNCH.
“Rising inflation and operational costs are the reasons for the recent tariff increase,” Tijani, who is also spearheading the country’s ambitious 90,000-kilometre fibre project, explained to the lawmakers.
Further, he said, “What most people don’t pay attention to is that historically, we’ve left investment in telecommunications infrastructure to private companies. And these private companies will only go to where they can make money. They use a data set, called night-time satellite data, which will look down on the economy at night.
“They will see where light exists, and that’s where they will put their money. Because those lights, for them, indicate economic activities.”
The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project said they plan to challenge the tariff increase in court, describing it as burdensome and unlawful.
The President of NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, told our correspondent yesterday that the association would engage the telecom regulator, NCC, this week in an attempt to reverse the hike to 10 per cent.
However, if the meeting does not take place or fails to yield results, NATCOMS will proceed with legal action next week.
Ogunbanjo explained that while the association might accept a modest tariff increase of five to 10 per cent, anything beyond that would be deemed unacceptable.
On its part, SERAP issued a 48-hour ultimatum to reverse the tariff increase, calling it “unlawful.”
The organisation, via its official X (formerly Twitter) account, wrote, “The Tinubu administration and telcos must immediately reverse the unlawful increase in calls and data costs. We’ll see in court if the 50 per cent tariff hike is not reversed within 48 hours.”
The tariff increase, an indispensable move to sustain the operations of the telecom industry, has sparked debates, with many Nigerians expressing frustration over the rising cost of essential communication services.
Subscribers argue that the decision disproportionately affects low-income earners who rely on affordable call and data services for their daily activities.
The NCC had on Monday approved the tariff adjustment for the telcos who were seeking 100 per cent, citing the need to address rising operational costs in the industry.
In a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, the NCC noted that the adjustment represents the first change in tariffs since 2013.
The regulator capped the adjustment at a maximum of 50 per cent, significantly lower than the over 100 per cent increase initially proposed by some operators.
The NCC described the decision as a measured response to the increasing financial pressures faced by network operators while also seeking to balance the interests of consumers and the sustainability of the industry.
“The NCC has prioritised striking a balance between protecting telecoms consumers and ensuring the sustainability of the industry, including the thousands of Indigenous vendors and suppliers who form a critical part of the telecommunications ecosystem,” the statement read.
“The NCC recognises the financial pressures faced by Nigerian households and businesses and remains deeply empathetic to the impact of tariff adjustments.
“To this end, the commission has mandated that operators implement these adjustments transparently and in a manner that is fair to consumers,” the NCC stated.
