By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has said a hike in telecomms tariff is inevitable.
Tijani, however, assured Nigerians that the hike will not exceed 60 per cent.
Amid a push for an upward adjustment in tariff, Tijani had declined a 100 percent increase as demanded by telcos.
The minister spoke on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Wednesday night. This is against the background of deepening anxieties amongst Nigerians and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.
He stressed that any increase would range between 30 percent to 60 percent.
“I think they should only increase by not more than anywhere between 30 to 60 percent,” he said.
Tijani said approving a 100 percent tariff hike would be harmful to Nigerians.
The minister also said allowing such a significant increase would hinder the country’s growth, hence the focus on sustainability.
“We’re asking difficult questions, like can we possibly increase the local content in that sector, meaning can we reduce the amount of imports that are coming into that sector, which means they have to look for foreign exchange, which is more expensive,” Tijani said.
“We’ve declared all their infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, that’s something they’ve been looking for for years. President Tinubu did that last year.
“The reason is that when people go and vandalise telecommunications equipment, it drops the quality of service that people get, but it also costs this company a lot to repair. We’re taking that away.
“If you look at the tax reform, for instance, there are a number of things there to harmonise taxes that they pay, to reduce it in a way that is good for the country, but also allows these companies to thrive.
“We are as a country, for instance, investing in that 90,000 kilometres that I mentioned. When we do the investment, it will allow these companies to be able to reach more people.
“If we’re investing in towers in difficult-to-reach locations, in rural areas, it will give them the opportunity to increase the pool of customers that they have without making heavy investments.”
Tijani said his team’s recommendations, based on KPMG reports, would soon be finalised and circulated.
