The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has revealed that the impending telecommunications tariff hike won’t be more than 60%.
Recall that TelCos in the country had been agitating for a 100 percent tariff increase.
The companies said they have been grossly affected by rising operational costs, inflation, and naira devaluation, among other.
But speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Mr Tijani said the government acknowledged that a tariff increase in the telecom sector is due.
He, however, said that the government couild not grant the 100 percent that the companies are demanding.
When asked if there was a percentage threshold for the impending tariff increase, the minister said: “I think it should not be more than anywhere between 30 to 60 percent”.
He said that even though the companies are insisting that a 100 percent increase is what is needed to stabilise the sector, the government knows that such a level of increase will be harmful to the people.
“We have already made it clear that we are not going to approve 100 percent.
“These companies are asking for 100 percent, stating clearly that this is what they believe they need to get.
“But what we are looking at in terms of the sector is that if this is the sector that is responsible for driving growth in our country, it will be harmful to our people to allow MNO to increase by 100 percent,” Mr Tijani said during the interview.
The minister noted that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, was still working on the tariff increase and is yet to arrive at a particular figure.
According to him, it is necessary to look at the numbers and the implications any increase will have on the people and the sustainability of the sector for proper balancing.
Mr Tijani said that for mobile network operators to improve their service to the required standard, there is a need for them to keep improving their equipment.
