Tinubu takes 5% of telecommunication fee on voice, data services – Thage

From VI Tor Osula, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has demolished the 5 % free excise duty on telecommunication services in Nigeria, in a move aimed at reducing the cost of calls and Internet access for millions of users.

The executive vice -president of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, confirmed the development on Thursday in an X post.

The federal government had announced the excise duty for the first time in July 2022 as part of the efforts to expand its revenue base.

The withdrawal, which was to apply to voice and mobile services, aroused strong opposition from the interested parties in the sector and consumer defense groups, who argued that it would have increased the digital access costs and threatening operators already in difficulty with the increase in expenses.

Following a widespread back, the implementation was suspended on September 5, 2022, while a committee chaired by the then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was established, prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami. By March 2023, the Committee had recommended its complete removal.

Maida explained that President Tinubu went beyond eliminating the tax in new tax laws, citing the position of the president that the Nigerians should not bear such an additional burden.

“With the removal, operators and subscribers should enjoy some relief, even if the government balances the generation of revenue with policies that support growth and digital inclusion,” he said.

Development should benefit from over 171 million telecommunications subscribers throughout the country, many of which had already undergone a tariff increase of 50 % at the beginning of this year.

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