Nigerians to pay more for calls, data as FG approves telcos tariff hike demand

• He stated that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, would soon approve the new tariffs and make it public to Nigerians.

The Nigerian government has disclosed that telecommunications tariffs will soon increase.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, made the disclosure on Wednesday.

Speaking at the end of a stakeholders meeting with Mobile Network Operators, MNOs on Wednesday in Abuja, he stated that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, would soon approve the new tariffs and make it public to Nigerians.

Tijani had met with telco stakeholders amid sustained pressure for a telecom tariff hike.

He, however, assured Nigerians that the increase won’t be the 100 percent that telecom operators are demanding for at the moment

“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs. They are requesting a 100 percent tariff increase.

“But it will not be by 100 percent. We are still looking at that study, and NCC will come up with a clear directive on how we will go about it.

“We want to strike the balance as a government to protect our people but also protect and ensure that these companies can continue to invest significantly.

“We need to ensure that as a sector, we get our acts together and ensure that from the regulation side, we put the right regulations in place that can ensure the growth of this sector.”

The minister also noted that the federal government would no longer leave investments in infrastructure in the sector to private companies alone.

“As a country, over time, we have left this investment in the hands of the private sector. They typically invest where they can see returns in the short to medium term.

“We will not want this conversation to just be about tariff increase. I think what the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity.

“You want to have access to very good quality service.

“A part of it that the consumers may not be aware of is the investment that needs to go into the infrastructure that is used to deliver these services,” he said.

Meanwhile, telecom subscribers had also urged telcos to consider alternatives to tariff hikes.
This comes as telcos, including MTN and Airtel, had recently written to the NCC for fresh tariff hike approval.

Telecommunications companies recently threatened a shutdown of the sector if telecoms tariff hike is not approved.