By Abdul Lawal, Abuja

 The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed all Mobil Network service Provider to immediately reverse the implementation of 10 tariff increase in voice and data services to Nigerians.
Director ,Public Affairs of NCC, Reúben Muoka said the proposal was considered but approval has not been granted for implementation.

The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to media reports of unilateral implementation of the recently approved 10 per cent upward tariff adjustments for some voice and data services by the service providers, on their networks.
According to Muoka, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy Isah Ali Ibrahim Pantami had maintained that his priority is to protect the citizen and ensure that justice is done to all the stakeholders involved.
Muoka stressed that Pantami said anything that add hardship to the citizen will not be accepted to him in view of the general hardship in the land.

The Director, Public Affairs explained that the consideration for 10 per cent approval for tariff adjustments for different voice and data packages was in line with the mandates of the NCC as provided by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, and other extant Regulations and Guidelines, as this was within the provisions of existing price floor and price cap as determined for the industry.
He explained further that decision was also taken after a critical and realistic review and analysis of the operational environment and the current business climate in Nigeria, as it affects all sectors of the economy.
 

” Furthermore, even though the tariff adjustment was proposed and provisionally approved by the Management, pending the final approval of the Board of the Commission, in the end it did not have the approval of the Board of the Commission. As a result, it is reversed.” He said.

 He added that this was also why the Minister obtained the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the suspension of the proposed 5 per cent excise duty, in order to maintain a conducive enabling environment for the telecom operators.  Much as there is an increase in the cost of production, the provision of telecom services is still very profitable and it is necessary that the subscribers are not subjected to a hike in charges.
In view of the above, the Commission, through a letter sent on the 12th of October 2022, has already directed the affected Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to reverse the upward tariff adjustment. The Commission will carry our further consultations with all industry stakeholders on the best approaches that will protect and uphold the interest of both the consumers and the service providers.

The Commission will continue to entrench very transparent processes and procedures for rates determination in the industry. The process is usually carried out with wide industry consultation. It is through these processes that price floors and price caps for data and voice services are benchmarked, regularly reviewed, and determined from time to time.

 Muoka said the Commission will continue to abide by this time-tested process and international best practice to ensure efficient pricing mechanism for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.