By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has disclosed why the Federal Government, through the National Communications Commission (NCC), approved a 50% tariff hike for telecommunications companies in Nigeria.
The telecommunications company had initially requested 100% tariff hike but after back and forth between their representatives and those of the Federal Government, a 50% increase was agreed upon on Monday.
Speaking on the tariff hike, Tijani said it was was caused by inflation and rising operation cost.He stated this while responding to questions at the 2025 budget defence session by the joint House of Representatives and Senate Committees on Communication on Tuesday.
He added that the move was in tandem with broader economic patterns, where tariffs lead to higher consumer prices as a result of additional costs on imported goods and tariffs.
The minister said the federal government is planning to invest N6 billion to deploy 90,000 Kilometres of Fiber Optic cable to expand the country’s capacity from 35,000 Kilometres to 125,000 Kilometres.
He said the planned deployment of more Fibre Optic cable is an initiative aimed at fostering growth in critical communication sectors in the country.
