By Abiola Olawale
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has announced plans to stage a nationwide mass rally on February 4, 2025, in protest of a 50% increase in telecommunications tariffs recently approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This decision was made during an emergency meeting of the NLC’s National Administrative Council (NAC) in Abuja.
The union stated that the rally is intended to serve as a warning against what it described as an “unfair increase”. The NLC also lamented the timing, saying that Nigerians are already dealing with economic challenges, rising costs of petrol, food, electricity tariffs, and general inflation.
Following this development, the NLC directed all its affiliates and state councils to mobilize for the protest, calling for solidarity from Nigerian workers, the informal sector, and the general public.
“It therefore strongly condemns the Nigeria Communications Commission’s decision to approve the increase in telecommunications tariffs.
“This decision is insensitive, unjustifiable, and a direct assault on Nigerian workers and the general populace, who are already burdened by worsening economic hardship foisted on them by Policies of government which was no fault of theirs,” the union said.
Recall that the NCC recently approved a 50% increase in telecommunications tariffs, marking the first significant adjustment since 2013.
The commission explained that the decision came in response to requests from telecommunications operators for tariff hikes to address the gap between operational costs and revenue amidst economic challenges, including inflation and currency devaluation.
