The Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has blamed inflation and rising costs for the proposed tariff hike by telecommunication operators in the country.
The Minister, spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Telecom and Digital Economy on Tuesday.
According to him, the firms had initially sought a 100 tariff increase on calls and data but that the government had to bring it down to 50 percent.
But stakeholders, represented by the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, opposed the tariff hike, threatening to sue the NCC over the decision.
While defending the Ministry’s budgetary proposal for the 2025 fiscal year, Tijani said the tariff increase aligns with broader economic trends.
According to him, rising tariffs result in higher consumer prices due to additional costs on imported goods.
The Minister however clarified that tariffs act as a sales tax, causing a one-off price hike rather than sustained inflation.
He revealed that the federal government plans to invest N6 billion to deploy 90,000km of fibre optic cables that will increase the country’s capacity from 35,000km to 125,000km.
Tijani said apart from South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia, many African countries face significant deficits in fibre optic infrastructure.
“This is going to become a big business. We want Nigerian companies not only to lay cables within Nigeria but also to provide these services to neighbouring countries.
“We also want our people to become the employees who will execute this work. For instance, South Africa has leveraged its global businesses to achieve economic security. Nigeria must focus on similar opportunities to build a robust telecommunications infrastructure that guarantees national security,” the minsuter added.
He noted that historically, investments in telecommunications infrastructure was hitherto left to private companies, which Prioritise only areas where they can make profits.
“These companies rely on night-time satellite data to identify areas with active economic activities—indicated by the presence of lights—and invest only in those areas,” Tijani said.
He urged adequate funding of the ministry, saying it lacked the necessary resources to discharge its responsibilities effectively.
“The ministry is underfunded. Unlike the NCC, we do not have sufficient funds to track all users of telecom services or ensure timely payments. We also lack the appropriate software to perform these functions efficiently. If adequately resourced, the ministry could generate significantly more revenue,” he said.
The co-chairman of the Senate Committee on Communication, Senator Shuaib Salisu, commended the communication sector’s contributions to the nation’s economic growth.
He stressed the need for an upward review of the ministry’s 2025 budget proposal to enable it fulfil its mandate effectively.
