Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy Bosun Tijani has attributed the recent tariff increase by mobile network operators (MNOs) to global inflation and high operating costs.
Speaking after a closed-door budget advocacy session with the National Assembly's Joint Committee on Information, Communication and Technology on Tuesday, Tijani highlighted the financial challenges facing telecom companies.
He explained that telecommunications companies have been struggling for years with rising operating expenses and inflationary pressures, including the high cost of essential materials.
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The Minister emphasized that these issues are not unique to Nigeria but are part of a global economic challenge.
Tijani assured Nigerians of the government's commitment to sustaining the telecommunications sector and safeguarding the interests of consumers.
“The price increase is based on global inflation. This is a sector that has not increased prices for a long time; what the government has been doing is managing the situation.
“They have been shouting for a long time that they are struggling with the cost of diesel. This is not a problem unique to Nigerians,” Tijani said.
Tijani further assured that the government, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is monitoring the situation to ensure that MNOs continue to provide high quality services.
“We will ensure that MNOs can continue to provide the best quality services to the people. “The NCC is doing a lot of monitoring now to ensure that the quality of services people will receive is good,” he said.
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