Nigeria Labour Congress suspends proposed protest over telecom tariff hike

 The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its proposed protest over the 50 per cent increase in telecommunication tariff. 

 

The decision was taken after the labour union met with the delegation from the Federal government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, on Monday, February  3.

 

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

 

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

 

After extensive deliberation, the two bodies 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 government and the organised Labour for final consideration”, he said.

 

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

 

Present at the meeting were Minister Communication and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijanni, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Budget and National Planning,Atiku Bagudu, National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, among others.

 

LIB reported that last Wednesday, the NLC declared that it will 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 Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

 

The NLC said the rally will 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.