National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), body of telecommunications subscribers in the country has called for sanctions against telecommunications operators in the country for allegedly undermining the agreement between organized labour and the federal government.
This is coming as the NLC called for a nationwide boycott of telecom services, starting March 1.
But the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers has recused itself from the boycott but berated telecom operators for undermining the agreement between the NLC and federal government.
It asked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to sanction operators for proceeding with the increase without approval, emphasising that the telecom companies’ actions undermine the review process and disregard the concerns of Nigerian consumers.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, NATCOMS said that “The telcos didn’t wait for the two-week period or the end of the month. So, why did the telcos proceed with the tariff increase without considering the agreement made with the NLC?”
According to Ogunbanjo, his group is clamouring for a 10 per cent increase from 50 per cent.
He said that NATCOMS was awaiting the outcome of the panel to determine whether it would proceed to court.
“All we wanted was that, during an emergency meeting last Friday, we suggested that rather than going straight to court, we could first consider the outcome of the protest and the panel being set up by the NLC.”
Ogunbanjo also proposed alternatives to the immediate tariff hike, suggesting that a phased increase could have been negotiated.
“We proposed a 10 per cent increase as an alternative or even a 30 per cent increase in phases. Just like the fuel price hike, which was phased from N200 to N600, such a phased increase could have been negotiated,” he said.
Elsewhere, the NLC has called for a nationwide boycott of telecom services.
In a communique signed by Joe Ajaero, president and Emma Ugboaja, general secretary respectively following a meeting of the union’s Central Working Committee in Lokoja on Tuesday, the union accused telecom companies of breaching public trust and flouting due process by implementing the controversial tariff hike before the 10-man review panel had completed its deliberations.
The NLC further chastised the government for its failure to safeguard citizens from corporate exploitation.
As part of its initial response to the tariff increase, the NLC had called on Nigerian workers and sympathetic citizens to boycott the services of MTN, Airtel, and Glo daily from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, starting February 13 and continuing through February 2025.
In its latest communique, the union stated, “All workers and citizens are urged to suspend the purchase of data from these companies, which have become among the most significant tools for exploiting Nigerian citizens. We also demand the repatriation of all funds unlawfully siphoned out of the country by these firms.”
The union gave the telecom companies until the end of February 2025 to reverse the tariff increase, warning that if the operators fail to comply, a nationwide shutdown of their services will be enforced starting March 1, 2025.
The NLC instructed its state councils to immediately begin sensitising and mobilising their members, as well as the general public, in their regions.
Additionally, it requested its affiliate unions to encourage members across the country to observe “electronic silence” during the designated hours of protest.