By Olaitan Ibrahim
The House of Representatives’ Committee on Communications is interfacing with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress to avert the nationwide protest scheduled February 4, 2025, over the 50 per cent hike in telecom tariff.
The Nigerian Communications Commission recently approved a 50 per cent tariff increase for telecommunication companies, citing prevailing operational costs.
Miffed by the development, the NLC vowed to embark on a nationwide protest, calling on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to revert to the old tariff in the interim.
The union noted that the rally would serve as a warning on the dangers of imposing such “an unfair increase on a struggling population earning a minimum wage of only N70,000; a population that has suffered an outrageous hike in the price of petrol, high cost of food, hike in electricity tariff, among sundry hardship in the past few years.”
Speaking exclusively in a statement on the issue, the Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Peter Akpatason, said the panel was already reaching out to the NLC to shelve the planned mass protest.
Akpatason who represents Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency, Edo State, noted that the planned protest, if allowed to hold, would only bring about more hardship for Nigerians.
He said, “The committee that I chair is already reaching out to the leadership of labour and the industry operators, to avert any action that would rather bring more hardship to the people.
“We had earlier met with the industry operators, who explained the numerous challenges bedeviling the sector, such as inadequate funding for infrastructure upgrades to address the consumers’ complaints about declining quality of services and poor coverage. I will advise that we look at the issues objectively before embarking on any protests.”
Similarly, the Director of Public Affairs of NCC, Reuben Mouka, told our correspondent that the commission was making an effort to engage the NLC over the new telecom tariff.
“We are trying to engage them,” he said in a brief telephone conversation.