The House of Representatives Tuesday directed the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani and the Nigerian Communications Commissions, NCC, to suspend the impending hike in telecommunications tariffs until services are improved.
The decision of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved at the plenary on Tuesday by Oforji Oboku.
Presenting the motion, the lawmaker recalled that speaking after a stakeholders’ meeting with Mobile Network Operators in Abuja on Wednesday 8th of January, 2025, Tijani disclosed that telecommunication tariffs would soon increase.
The lawmaker stressed that the argument of the telecommunications companies for the hike includes, the cost of investment, better networks, increasing demand for digital services across sectors such as education, banking and healthcare, amongst others.
Oboku recalled that telecommunications companies had 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.
The lawmaker noted 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.
He explained that the telcos need cost- reflective tariffs in the face of adverse economic realities like a record inflation of 34.6 percent in November 2024 and losses resulting from foreign exchange fluctuations.
“It is imperative that the telecommunications companies improve on their service delivery (poor network), which Nigerians have been yearning for in years, before embarking on the increase in their tariffs.”
The lawmaker expressed concern that the far reaching effects of these price hikes would 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.
Oboku argued that affordable connectivity is a must for progress in critical sectors like digital banking, education, healthcare, agriculture and e- governance.
After a debate, the House resolved: “To urge the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commissions to suspend the impending hike in telecommunications tariffs until their service improved.”