Officials of the federal government are currently meeting with representatives of telecom companies to find a way out of the crisis generated by demand for tariff hike by operators in the sector. However the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) not to approve any tariff hike as being demanded by telecom operators. The association said it strongly opposed the purported recent approval of a tariff hike by the NCC. It said the decision by the NCC to grant the tariff hike would have detrimental effects on telecom users as it would lead to 40% rise in telecommunication service prices. NATCOMS made the plea to the NCC in a communique issued after an emergency meeting held in Lagos. According to the communique signed by its National President, Adeolu Ogunbanjo and National Secretary, Barr. Bayo Omotubora, the association said the demand for tariff hike by the telecom operators was insensitive as it would further worsen the economic hardship facing ordinary Nigerians.
According to reliable sources, the government meeting with telecom operators which started early on Wednesday, was called by the presidency to forestall the degeneration of the crisis. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, is leading the federal government’s delegation with other representatives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The telecom operators are being represented by telecom companies like MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, 9Mobile, and ALTON, among others. The demand for tariff hike by telecom operators started early in 2024, but assumed a crisis situation in December 2024 when the operators threatened to disrupt their services to consumers. The telecom operators said their demand was due to increasing operational costs in the sector threatening their survival. The Nigerian Communications Commission, the regulatory agency in the sector, has however, insisted on the old tariff regime, even in the heat of the threat by the operators.
NATCOMS on its part said under the proposed tariffs regime, a voice call would rise from N11.00 to N15.40 per minute, while short message services would jump from N4.00 to N5.60. “One GB data bundle will move from N1,000 to N1,400. This represents additional digital costs consumers will have to square up with at the beginning of a new year among other harsh economic realities of Nigeria of today. This, undoubtedly, is against Public Interest contrary to the false narrative of NCC that described the recent adjustments as pro public interest. This Association sees the increment as an official policy to price Telecoms Services out of the reach of generality of the Citizens of this country,” it said.
It said the price hike would be additional burden at a time when Nigerians were grappling with high inflation, increased taxes, and soaring living expenses. NATCOMS said it strongly disagreed with the NCC’s justification that the tariff increase is in the public interest. It described the hike as a clear departure from the NCC’s duty to protect telecom consumers, warning that the price rise could price out millions of Nigerians from accessing basic communication services. “Telecom services are already becoming less affordable for the average Nigerian. If this tariff increase goes through, we risk seeing many people completely priced out of the market,” it said. The association also raised concerns about the cumulative effect of other recent cost increases such as the 50% VAT hike on telecom services imposed by the Finance Act of 2019 and the excise duty charge introduced by the Federal Government in 2020. NATCOMS warned that the combined effect of these charges could make telecom services prohibitively expensive for many Nigerians. It also highlighted the ongoing legal battle over the excise duty charge, which it had challenged in court on the grounds of double taxation. It said the case is currently pending before the Federal High Court with a hearing scheduled for March 2025. While NATCOMS acknowledged the telecom operators’ claims of rising operational costs, including government-imposed levies and the increasing dollarization of telecom equipment, the association argued that there are other ways for operators to meet these costs without burdening consumers.
FG meets telecom operators over tariff hike as NATCOMS urges NCC not to approve any hike
