Organised Labour through the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has forced the Nigerian government to reduce telecommunications tariff hike from 50 percent to 35 percent.
It was gathered that the reduction followed a meeting of the 10-man committee comprising government and NLC representatives at the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA, on Friday, February 21, 2025.
According to Vanguard, an official communique announcing the tariff reduction is expected to be released any moment from Saturday, February 22.
The meeting started around 4 pm and ended about 7 pm, where NLC representatives insisted that the tariff hike must be withdrawn.
Sources revealed that after much pressure from NLC representatives in the 10-man committee, the government and NCC buckled and agreed on 15 percent reduction.
Recall that NLC had on February 12, expressed outrage over the hike in tariff by telecommunications companies despite an earlier agreement reached with the Federal Government and the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and demanded immediate reversal of the hike to avoid unpleasant consequences.
According to NLC, “If the telecommunications companies fail to revert to the old tariff by the end of February 2025, a total shutdown of their operations nationwide will commence from March 1, 2025.”
To show its seriousness, NLC declared that as a first step in resisting the arbitrary tariff hike, it directed that from Thursday, February 13, 2025, (today) workers and other willing citizens should boycott the services of MTN, AIRTEL, and GLO daily between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM until the end of February 2025.
Leaders of NLC in a communique at the end of their Central Working Committee, CWC, meeting in Lokoja, Kogi State, Tuesday, February 11, urged workers and citizens to suspend the purchase of data from the telecommunications companies which has also become one of their greatest tools for exploiting Nigerian citizens.
The communique signed by the President and General Secretary of Congress, Joe Ajaero and Emma Ugboaja, respectively, directed NLC State Councils and industrial union affiliates to commence immediate sensitisation and mobilisation of their members and the general public within their jurisdictions.
