Reactions have begun to trail the decision of President Bola Tinubu to remove 5% telecoms tax, a move confirmed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The announcement was made by NCC Executive Vice-Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida during a media briefing in Abuja.
Maida explained that the decision of Tinubu to remove the 5% telecoms tax was hinged on easing financial burdens on millions of telecom subscribers and boosting Nigeria’s digital economy.
Maida confirmed that the tax initially suspended in 2023, has now been officially removed under revised national tax laws.
He stated: “The 5% excise duty is no longer in effect. Initially, it was only suspended, but the President has now completely removed it. I was present when the issue was raised, and he firmly said, ‘No, we cannot place this burden on Nigerians.’ I was very pleased to see that this directive was upheld in the new legislation.”
Recall that the controversial 5% excise duty, initially introduced in 2022 under the administration of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, faced backlash for increasing the cost of mobile voice and data services.
Tinubu first suspended the tax in July 2023, following concerns about its impact on consumers and businesses.
However, when the National Assembly proposed reinstating it in October 2024, resistance from the telecom sector prompted the president to abolish it entirely under new tax laws.
Reacting to the development, the President of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMs), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, described the news as soothing.
According to him, the 5% telecoms tax would have increased tariffs on calls and data despite the 50 per cent hike granted in January 2025.
Ogunbanjo said: “You know, if the Federal Government had allowed the five per cent, it means there will be additional tariff increase on data, calls by the operators anytime soon, despite the fact that they were gifted a 50 per cent hike in January this year.
“The subscribers’ association is still begging the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to help review downward the 50 per cent to 35 per cent, which was what we initially agreed to earlier in the year. But, as it is, it is a succour to subscribers. We appreciate Mr President for this gesture.
“The NATCOMs executives will meet to finalise how to withdraw the case from the court. This is a good one for the over 170 million active subscribers in the country.”
Also reacting to the development, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the industry still awaits the full report to be sure that, “It won’t be that a five per cent was removed from one part but another seven per cent has been added somewhere else.”
However, he said the industry will welcome the outright removal and expressed hope that the much-expected succour comes to the teeming subscribers.
