By Caleb Ishaya, Abuja
Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has defended the recent 50% tariff increase for telecoms companies, announced recently by the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, nothing that the hike will guarantee meaningful access to telecoms services in the country.
Tijani, stated this while briefing State House Correspondents, yesterday.
The Minister who led Mr Sunil Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel and other members of the executive of the company, to a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the decision to increase telecoms tariff was difficult.
He, however, said that it was the responsibility of the government to look out for the interest of citizens, individuals and businesses.
“According to him, “We have to ensure that when they invest, we can keep them afloat.
” This is a sector that employs close to half a million people in this country, including the value chain.
“Also, it was quite a difficult decision, balancing the need to allow these businesses to be sustainable, to stay afloat, but at the same time ensuring that each and every citizen can have access to telecommunication services”.
He stated that the Federal Government engaged KPMG to conduct a study to determine the optimal tariff allowance which led to the 50% increase.
“If we chose not to allow the increase in tariff, we also were at risk of losing jobs, and some of the companies packing up.
“When you weigh that, it’s also not the best thing for the economy.
” The priority for this government is actually meaningful access.
“We don’t want our people to just have access to telecommunication services.
” We want it to be meaningful; the quality that you get is extremely important”, the Minister said.
He said the Federal Government had invested in 90,000 kilometres of fiber to ensure the entire country was covered.
The Minister added that the Federal Executive Council had also approved investment in additional 7,000 telecoms towers in rural areas.
He said quality access and connectivity required significant investment.
The Minister added that the Federal Government must encourage the private sector to continue to make such investment.
Mittal, on his part, said Nigeria was the soul of Barthi Airtel’s operations in Africa, with the potential to match India’s advancements in digital innovation, connectivity and financial inclusion.
He said Airtel’s success in Nigeria was crucial to its overall success in Africa.
Mittal, said Nigeria’s strategic importance underscored Airtel’s objective of driving growth and transformation across the African continent.
“Nigeria is the most important part of our Africa strategy.
” In fact, the entire Africa rests on the back of Nigeria for Airtel”, he said.
It would be recalled that the new tariff regime is being resisted by Nigerians from different segments including the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, accusing the Federal Government of failing to conduct adequate consultations before approving the new tariff.
