The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commissions to suspend the impending hike in telecommunications tariffs until the services offered by the telecom companies improved.

This followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Oboji Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), on the need to halt the recent increase in tariffs by the telecom companies.

Leading the debate on the motion, Oforji recalled the announcement by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani that telecommunication tariffs will soon increase.

He said, ?According to the Minister, consultations are ongoing as some of these companies have agitated to increase tariffs to as high as 100 percent. He, however, said it would not be a 100 percent increase and that the Nigerian Communications Commission would approve the new tariffs and announce them in due course.

?The argument of the telecommunications companies for the hike includes the cost of investment, better networks, and increasing demand for digital services across sectors such as education, banking, and healthcare amongst others.

?The telecommunications companies have been advocating for the hike for the last eleven 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 record inflation of 34.6 percent in November 2024 and losses resulting from foreign exchange fluctuations.

?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.

?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 far-reaching effects of these price hikes will 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.

?Affordable connectivity is a must for progress in critical sectors like digital banking, education, healthcare, agriculture and e-governance. Informal sector workers who depend on affordable mobile data to access gig work opportunities may find it harder to stay connected.

?Saddened that those small businesses, which rely heavily on affordable telecommunication for operations, marketing, and customer engagement, will face additional financial burden. Imagine a scenario where a 10 percent increase is approved.

?It is estimated that a 10 percent increase in telecommunications costs would reduce small business profitability up to 7 percent, potentially leading to the closure of businesses.

Supporting the motion, Billy Osawaru (APC, Edo) there was no reason why Nigerians will continue to suffer anytime anything goes wrong, adding that Nigerians will not mind paying increased tariffs if the services being rendered are effective.

He said: ?In the developed world, people pay for the services they enjoy and such services will have to be top-notch. The services rendered by these telecom companies are ineffective to the extent that Nigerians have to carry two phones anyway they go.

?We are not saying tariff should not be increased. But that should not be now. They should first show us why they want to increase their tariff. So, this planner increase should wait?.

However, Dominic Okafor (APGA, Anambra) said that for telecom operators to offer effective services, they should be allowed to increase their tariffs since the cost of doing business in the country has increased substantially. (The Nation)

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