The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s approval of a 50 per cent increase in telecom tariffs, urging subscribers to “reject this tariff.” In a statement posted on its X handle, the NLC expressed its discontent over the hike, which follows the telecom operators’ initial request for a 100 per cent increase.
The increase, the first of its kind in over a decade, is intended to rejuvenate Nigeria’s struggling telecom sector, which contributes about 14 per cent to the country’s economy. However, the NLC has criticized the move as an added financial burden on Nigerians, citing the hike in call, SMS, and data costs.
The statement highlighted the new charges: calls increased to N16.50 per minute from N11, SMS charges rose to N6 from N4, and the price for a 1GB data bundle surged to N431.25 from N287.50.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, also condemned the government’s decision to allocate N8bn for educating Nigerians on paying electricity bills. Ajaero called the allocation a waste, criticizing the power sector’s leadership for its failure to regulate effectively, resulting in constant grid collapses. He demanded the resignation of Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and other ministry officials, labeling them incompetent.
Additionally, Ajaero condemned the discriminatory electricity band system under Adelabu’s leadership, questioning the fairness of placing some Nigerians in Band A while others are assigned lower bands.
