Minister Blames Cost Of ‘Diesel’ For MTN, GLO Others Telecoms Tariff Hike

The federal government has no other options than to approve a new telecommunication tariff regime, according to the Minister of Communications, Innovations, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.

The minister spoke on the heels of the recent tariff increase for telecoms operators in the country, including MTN, Glo, Airtel and others by 50 percent.

The operators had earlier demanded 100 percent increase.

The hike will affect what the operators charge on phone calls and data from their consumers, according to analysts.

Not a few consumers said the hike undesirable in the fact of the current economic situation in the country. The increasing will exacerbate the problem, analyst say.

Defending the government’s decision to approve a new tariff regime on Tuesday, the minister said there was no other way out, as the government had to act to keep the operators in business in the face of the rising cost of production, including the cost of diesel which have gone up in the last few months.

Tijani while speaking after a closed-door budget defence session with the National Assembly Joint Committee on Information, Communication, and Technology, said what’s happening in the country is similar to other part of the world where the cost of services has shot up as a result of global inflation.

He said the approval was made after months of pressure from the operators over the cost of operations, adding that the government will ensure that the providers “deliver the best quality services.”

“The hike in price is based on inflation globally. This is a sector that has not increased prices for a long time; what the government has been doing is managing the situation,’ Tijani said.

Adding that, “They have been crying out for a long time that they are struggling with the cost of diesel. This is not a problem that is unique to Nigerians..

“We will ensure that MNOs can continue to deliver the best quality services to the people. The NCC is doing a lot of tracking now to ensure that the quality of the services people will get is of good quality.”