NLC Cancels Planned Telecom Tariff Hike Protest

The decision to shelve the nationwide demonstration was taken after the labour union met with the delegation from the federal government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr George Akume, on Monday.

According to a statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations in the office of the SGF, Mr Seguin Imohiosen, the meeting was to maintain industrial harmony and to protect the interests of Nigerians.

He said that the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, who spoke on behalf of the government, said that the purpose of the meeting was to look into the study carried out by the NCC which led to the 50 per cent increment on telecommunications tariff.

The two bodies after extensive deliberations agreed to set up a 10-man Committee comprising five members from the federal government and five from the NLC to review the study and submit its report within two weeks.

“So, the summary of it is that Labour and the Nigerian Labour Congress specifically and the delegation of the federal government have set up a committee of five each. We are going to meet here continuously for the next two weeks.

“And at the end of the second week, we will now come up with a recommendation that we will give to the government and the organised Labour for final consideration”, he said.

The NLC president, Mr Joe Ajaero, said that the union will wait till the outcome of the committee to determine its next line of action.

Also present at the meeting were the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun; the chief executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mr Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu, among others.

The NLC last Wednesday declared it would embark on a nationwide mass rally on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in protest of the 50 per cent telecom tariff increase recently approved by the NCC.

The NLC said the rally would serve as a warning on the dangers of imposing such an unfair increase on a struggling population earning a minimum wage of only N70,000; a population that has suffered outrageous hike in the price of petrol, high cost of food, hike in electricity tariff and general rising inflation.

Recall that an association of telco subscribers said it was not going to join the NLC in its planned protest considering that it was approaching the courts for its demand.