Reps ask FG to suspend telecom tariff hike

The House of Representatives has urged the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to suspend the proposed increase in telecommunications tariffs until service delivery improves.

The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance presented by Rep. Obuku Offorji during plenary on Tuesday.

Offorji recalled that the minister had announced, after a stakeholders’ meeting on January 8, that telecom operators were pushing for a tariff increase, with some proposing hikes as high as 100 percent. While the minister clarified that the increase would not reach 100 percent, he stated that the NCC would approve and announce the new tariffs in due course.

Offorji criticized the justification provided by the telecom operators, which included the cost of investment, better networks, and the growing demand for digital services in sectors such as education, banking, and healthcare.

“The telecommunications companies have been advocating for the hike for the last 11 years, according to the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON). They argued that the telcos need cost-reflective tariffs in the face of adverse economic reality like a record inflation of 34.6 percent in November 2024 and losses resulting from foreign exchange fluctuations,” he said.

Offorji also highlighted opposition from the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, which described the proposed increase as “insensitive” and an additional burden on consumers already struggling with economic hardship and poor service quality.

“It is imperative that the telecommunications companies improve on their service delivery, which Nigerians have been yearning for, before embarking on the increase in their tariffs,” he added.

Offorji warned of the broader implications of the price hikes, noting that they could deepen financial struggles for average Nigerians, undermine efforts to leverage technology for economic revival, exacerbate poverty, and widen existing inequalities. He stressed that affordable connectivity is crucial for progress in sectors like digital banking, education, healthcare, agriculture, and e-governance, adding that informal workers reliant on affordable mobile data could face difficulties staying connected.