Labour Union Abandons Protest as Government Backs 35% Telecom Tariff Rise
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In a significant policy U-turn, the Nigeria Labour Congress has scrapped its planned protest on 1 March 2025 following a last-minute accord with the Federal Government over a 35 per cent increase in telecom tariffs, according to reports from The PUNCH.
The move, which has been met with cautious optimism by the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, marks a departure from the initially announced 50 per cent hike declared by the Nigerian Communications Commission on 20 January 2025—the first substantial adjustment in over a decade. Telecom operators, beset by inflation and currency depreciation, had earlier favoured a doubling of tariffs before intervention reduced the proposal.
Insider sources within the union revealed that negotiations with government officials culminated in a compromise, with a 10-member committee finalising the agreement to temper the originally slated increase. “Have you not heard that an agreement has been reached between the NLC and the FG? The 50 per cent hike in telecom tariff has been reduced to 35 per cent as agreed by the 10-man committee,” an insider stated, adding that the cancellation of the protest was a foregone conclusion.
However, not all are convinced. Funmi Sessi, Chair of the Lagos State chapter of the NLC, has criticised the decision, arguing that a 35 per cent surge places an unfair burden on Nigerians already grappling with economic hardship. Sessi contended that any tariff adjustment should be gradual, suggesting a limit of no more than 15 per cent under current conditions.
While the National Executive Council of the union is set to deliberate the matter further at a meeting on Friday, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, welcomed the tariff reduction but urged further measures to ease the cost pressures on consumers. Ogunbanjo noted that consumer advocacy had secured a 15 per cent reduction from the initially proposed increase, although he lamented that NATCOMS had not been invited to the committee discussions.
The Nigerian Communications Commission and industry bodies, including the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, have yet to comment on the developments.
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