NLC Slams FG Over 50% Tariff Increase, Threatens Boycott Of Telecoms Services

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Thursday, January 23rd, 2025

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has slammed the Federal Government and telecommunications companies for the 50% increase in data and airtime tariffs in the country.

According to the NLC, the increase is an assault on the welfare of Nigerians due to the increase in the cost of living.

Joe Ajaero, the NLC President stated this while speaking to newsmen at the Labour House in Abuja saying that the increase is a pointer that the government prioritises corporate profits over citizens’ welfare.

He said: “The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the Federal Government’s recent approval, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), of a 50% 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.”

The NLC president called for protest and he was perplexed why major stakeholders were not consulted before the decision was made.

“Telecommunication services are essential for daily communication, work, and access to information. Yet, an average Nigerian worker already spends approximately 10% of their wages on telecom charges.

“For a worker earning the current minimum wage of ₦70,000, this means an increase from ₦7,000 to a staggering ₦10,500 per month or 15% of his salary—a cost that is unsustainable.

“This hike exemplifies the government’s apparent ease in prioritising corporate profits over citizens’ welfare.

“It is shocking that the government approved this 50% tariff increase for telecom companies within a month, yet it took nearly a year to approve the recent minimum wage for workers, despite the rising cost of living and inflation eroding purchasing power.

“This glaring disparity underscores a troubling reality: the government appears more aligned with the interests of wealthy corporations than with the needs of the workers and citizens it is meant to serve.

“We must ask: When will the government stand for the people it swore to protect? When will the National Assembly rise to its responsibility and hold the executive accountable for policies that blatantly undermine the welfare of the majority? When will the common man heave a sigh of relief in Nigeria?

“NLC is not opposed to a tariff review but disagrees with the approved rate of increase. We, therefore, call on the government, the NCC, and the National Assembly to stop the implementation of this ill-advised hike and allow a reasonable conversation about it.

“If the dialogue agrees on the need for the hike, then we can all seek a more humane increase and definitely not this 50% hike.”