
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) during the week told Nigerians of its intention to hold protests against approval by the Federal Government of 50 per cent increase in the tariffs charged by telcos in the country. It also added that its officials and state councils have been directed to mobilize allies and workers to give fillip to the protest.
The Labour centre justified its planned action on the grounds of economic hardship. Let me quote the NLC statement:
Titled “50% telecom tariff hike: Another burden too harsh!” NLC’s President, Joe Ajaero, said: “The NLC expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the Federal Government’s recent approval, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), of a 50 per cent increase in telecommunication tariffs.
“This decision, coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, is a clear assault on their welfare and an abandonment of the people to corporate fat cats.
“Telecommunication services are essential for daily communication, work, and access to information. Yet, an average Nigerian worker already spends approximately 10 percent of their wages on telecom charges. For a worker earning the current minimum wage of N70,000, this means an increase from N7,000 to a staggering N10,500 per month or 15 percent of his salary—a cost that is unsustainable.”
The NLC is quite right. We have suddenly found ourselves in a country where you permanently have to pay more for everything, every day. Since May 29, 2023 when this misfortune befell us, almost no item has retained the same price for more than a week — from toothpaste to mosquito coil, from soft drinks to cement and other commodities. In fact, one now needs about N1,500 to purchase what once sold for N500, if one can use the price of two wraps of amala and three cutlets of beef at a roadside foodseller’s place as barometer.
Already, the telcos who are immediate beneficiaries of the tariff hike are salivating, promising improved services.
Speaking on the matter, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has justified the recent 50 per cent hike in telecom tariffs, citing the need to adapt to rising economic pressures and ensure the sustainability of the industry.
ALTON chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said that the tariff increase is a necessary response to cost challenges facing telecom operators.
His words: “The industry has been grappling with escalating costs, including diesel, energy, and inflation, without a corresponding adjustment in tariffs for 12 years. This has resulted in unsustainable operational costs, prompting telecom operators to seek a tariff review to maintain the quality of their services. The 50 per cent tariff hike was approved by regulatory authorities after a thorough review of economic indices and is in line with the provisions of the Communications Act.”
Adebayo added that the tariff hike would ultimately benefit consumers, as telecom operators would be able to enhance service quality, optimise networks, and attract more investments.
Also, an NGO, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project is not taking the matter “as is”, and has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government over what it described as the “arbitrary, unconstitutional, unlawful, unfair, and unreasonable” 50% increase in telecom tariffs.
The latest from the NLC is that a tariff hike of just 5% is tolerable. The NLC spokesman, Benson Upah, said this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, yesterday.
“They keep on emasculating us through stupid taxes. It will come to a point when people can pay but they won’t pay. This really is to halt this mindless tariff increase. And if by any chance there has to be an increase at all, 5%, given the fact of our situation that there have been increases across the board,” he said.
I am going to advise NLC, SERAP and others who are against the 50 per cent telecoms tariff hike to hold their breath, pause, and ponder. In fact, I will advise them to consider fighting a war they are confident of winning as I do not see the outlines of victory on this one. Today is January 31, and the new tariffs take effect February 1. Assuming a court rules against the tariff hike, will the telcos suspend it?
Knowing how our judiciary operates, a ruling will come weeks, if not months after the new tariffs are in place. Will there be reverses and refunds if the court rules against the new tariffs? Doubtful. The cart was already placed before the horse. It would have been a different matter if as government worked on the new tariff, it considered inputs from critical stakeholders. That did not happen. Apart from that, the peoples’ elected representatives in the national and state legislatures have not considered this matter worthy of their attention.
In other words, we have been abandoned to our fate, as usual, as it happened with increases in the price of petrol, cement, rice, and every other thing. It seems this government is not of the people, by the people, and for the people. We might as well be ruled by aliens from Mars or Pluto, who don’t care about us. We don’t look alike, do we? In reality, how many of us look as well-fed as the fat cats of Abuja and the mandarins of the civil and public service? TGIF.