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Telecom operators. Photo Credit: Google
The committee set up by the Federal Government to review the tariff structure by telecommunication companies has not met since its inauguration, Saturday PUNCH learnt.
The committee which is made up of 10 members of equal numbers from the Nigeria Labour Congress and Federal Government was meant to come up with recommendations two weeks after the time of the inauguration which was February 3, 2025.
Before the inauguration of the committee, the NLC had opposed the hike in tariff by telecom giants such as MTN, Airtel and Etisalat, threatening to embark on nationwide striker if the increase was not reversed.
Following the opposition, the FG set up a 10-man committee to prevent the NLC from embarking on the strike.
However, when asked about the progress made so far by the committee, the National Treasurer of the NLC, Hakeem Ambali, noted the representatives of the union in the committee had yet to submit their proposals before the news of the tariff approval by the Federal Government.
“Remember that five members of the committee were drawn from the side of the NLC. The plan was for them to come up with their recommendations and submit them to the committee. The NLC was however shocked when it heard news of the tariff hike when it was yet to even submit its proposals. No meeting has been held and the NLC views this as a betrayal.
“However, we want to commend the Nigerian police for their cooperation during civil protests. We hope they will maintain civility during the March 1 protest over the tariff hike,” Ambali said.
The NLC had announced its intention to shut down the operations of telecommunications companies across the country if the tariff hike announced by the Nigerian Communications Commission was not reversed by the end of February.
In a communiqué signed by its President, Joe Ajaero and General Secretary, Emma Ugboaja, on February 13, the NLC accused the telecom operators of breaching public trust by implementing the tariff hike before the conclusion of 10-man review panel’s deliberations.
The union directed Nigerians to boycott the services of major telecom providers, including MTN, Airtel, and Glo, daily between 11am and 2pm starting from February 13 and continuing through the month.
NLC also faulted the government for failing to protect citizens from corporate exploitation.
The union argued that the tariff increase represented a betrayal of public trust, given the earlier agreement to establish a committee to review the proposed hike.
