Nigerians have vowed to drag the federal government to court over approval of a 50 percent increase in calls, data, and other telecommunication tariffs.
In an instant multiplier effect, Point of Sales Operators have hinted at plans to increase their service charges.
The President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Adeolu Ogunbanjo and the National Spokesperson for the Association of Mobile Money & Bank Agents in Nigeria, Ogungbayi Ganiyu made these positions known on Monday.
This comes as the Nigerian Communications Commission on Monday gave Mobile Network Operators approval to increase service tariffs by at most 50 percent.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, had hinted that telecom tariffs will go up by either 30 or 50 percent.
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His position came from a fallout of a meeting between him and operators who had proposed a 100 percent tariff increase.
The latest telecom tariff hike approval comes 13 years after NCC announced price template in 2013.
Meanwhile, with the latest tariff hike approval, it means that upon implementation, Nigerians may be paying N16.5 per minute for calls from N11, the cost of SMS to N6 from N4, and the cost of 1 gigabit of data – N431.25.
Also, telcos may rake in N6.7 trillion annually in revenue from calls only with the new tariff regime; this is because 2023 national telephone traffic data showed that total outgoing telephone traffic was 205.3 billion minutes, while incoming traffic stood at 203.2 billion minutes.
Reacting, Ogunbanjo insisted that telecom subscribers have rejected the 50 percent tariff hike.
According to him, subscribers had agreed to a 5 or 10 percent tariff hike, not the 50 percent as announced by the NCC.
He noted that subscribers had decided to take legal action against the federal government for approving the 50 percent telecoms tariff hike.
Ogunbanjo decried that the hike will further impoverish Nigerians already grappling with the Premium Motor Spirit price hike, transportation and food price hike, which stood at 38.90 percent in December 2024.
“It is unfortunate that it is the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who is the one leading the telecommunications service increase.
“He should not impoverish Nigerians.
“While I understand the challenges facing the telecom sector, we agreed to a 5 to 10 percent tariff hike. If that is not enough, the telcos should go to the capital market to raise funds.
“We are going to court to challenge the decision by the federal government to approve a 50 percent tariff hike because we have given them options.
“We’ve painfully agreed to a telecom tariff hike. We know we are going to pay more but not 50 percent
“The telcos requested a 100 percent tariff hike; of course the telcos want to make more profit to the detriment of subscribers.
“50 percent tariff hike is too much. We are saying no. It is not acceptable. Anything more than 10 percent, we are going to court.
“This tariff will be enormous. Every business will increase their tariff. From the companies to the ordinary POS operators.
“This will cause further impoverishment of Nigerians,”
Meanwhile, the Association of Mobile Money & Bank Agents in Nigeria said with the 50 percent telecoms hike, its members may have no option but to increase service charges.
Ogungbayi Ganiyu, the National Public Relations Officer at AMMBAN, disclosed this in an interview on Monday.
According to him, members’ services are centred around telecom services, especially data, hence would be most impacted.
He, however, noted that POS operators may desire to bear the cost of the increased telecoms tariff.
“The telecom tariff hike will impact the operations of our members. I am afraid this may also have a multiplier effect on service charge.
“We have not sat down and looked at the latest tariff hike.
“However, the telecom service hike may not affect our operations.
“Our members may decide to bear the burden of the hike.
“Just like bankers, POS operators should be treated with respect in the banking sector because we are assisting them to reach the hinterlands,” he stated.
