By Aaron Ossai
Amidst protest against the recent 50 percent telecom tariff increase, the House of Representatives yesterday directed the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC to suspend the hike citing the current economic hardships being experienced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidy as reason.
The House took the decision following a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Oboku Oforji titled ‘Need for the Nigerian Communications Commission not to approve the impending hike in the telecommunications tariffs.”
Leading debate on the general principles of the motion, Hon. Oforji argued that though the telecommunications companies premised the hike on rising operational costs and the need for better service delivery; he noted that Nigerians were already going through a lot, just to put food on the table.
“The House is aware that telecommunications companies have been advocating for the hike for the last eleven years. The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria argued that the telcos need cost-reflective tariffs in the face of adverse economic realities like record inflation of 34.6 per cent in November 2024 and losses resulting from foreign exchange fluctuations”, he stated.
Speaking further, he reminded his colleagues that “The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers has rejected the proposed increase in tariffs, describing it as insensitive and a further burden on consumers already grappling with economic hardship, and poor network service delivery.”
“The telecommunications companies must improve on their service delivery (poor network), which Nigerians have been yearning for years, before embarking on the increase in their tariffs.
“The far-reaching effects of these price hikes will deepen financial struggles for the average Nigerian, threaten the country’s vision of leveraging technology to drive economic revival, exacerbate poverty and widen existing inequalities, hitting lower-income families the hardest.
“Affordable connectivity is a must for progress in critical sectors like digital banking, education, healthcare, agriculture and e-governance, stressing that “Informal sector workers who depend on affordable mobile data to access gig work opportunities may find it harder to stay connected”, he added.
He further argued that small businesses “which rely heavily on affordable telecommunication for operations, marketing, and customer engagement, will face additional financial burden, noting that “It is estimated that a 10 per cent increase in telecommunications costs would reduce small business profitability up to 7 per cent, potentially leading to the closure of businesses.”
After a robust debate on the general principles of the motion, majority of members at yesterday’s plenary unanimously adopted its prayers via voice vote.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s largest telecom operator, MTN, has commenced the gradual implementation of a 50 per cent tariff increase approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission in January.
The adjustment, which is evident in the updated prices of data plans, leaves call and SMS rates unaffected for the time being.
A senior executive from MTN, who doesn’t want to be mentioned, confirmed the development in a conversation with our correspondent on Tuesday.
“Yes, we’ve started updating our price lists.
“However, this process is gradual, and we haven’t completed it for all products yet”, the source said.
The price adjustments primarily affect several data plans.
