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The Grassroots Centre for Rights & Civic Orientation has strongly opposed the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) recent decision to approve a 50% increase in telecom tariffs. The group expressed concern over poor service delivery and called for better service quality before any price hikes.
The tariff adjustment, which took effect on January 20, was in response to requests from telecom companies like MTN Nigeria, who argued that rising costs, including inflation, foreign exchange fluctuations, and higher diesel prices, justified the increase.
In a statement, Executive Director Armsfree Ajanaku criticized the NCC for putting the interests of telecom companies over the well-being of Nigerians. “We urge the NCC to immediately provide a clear plan to ensure telecom operators offer world-class services,” Ajanaku said. He added that such an approach would create a telecom industry that supports Nigeria’s growth, rather than allowing a few telecom giants to profit unfairly.
The group questioned whether the 50% increase is reasonable, especially given the current substandard services from telecom operators. “With inflation and exchange rate issues, does a 50% tariff increase seem justified when Nigerians are already struggling economically?” Ajanaku asked.
The new tariff structure raises call rates from N11 to N16.50 per minute, SMS charges from N4 to N6, and the cost of 1GB of data from N350 to N431.25. The Grassroots Centre described these increases as “unfair” and accused the government of shifting the burden of its economic policies onto the public.
The organization also criticized the NCC for not providing a clear plan to improve service quality and emphasized that the NCC should focus on ensuring high-quality services rather than enabling price hikes. “Is the NCC’s job to allow telecom companies to charge excessively, or to guarantee a quality telecom industry?” Ajanaku questioned.
As Nigerians already face higher fuel and electricity costs, the telecom tariff hike further worsens their financial struggles. The Grassroots Centre urged the government to reverse the increase, arguing that it unfairly punishes ordinary citizens for economic policies that haven’t been properly executed.
