Borno residents say telecom tariffs hike stifling business recovery from flood disaster

Residents of Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, have described the recent 50 per cent telecommunications tariff hike as untimely, saying it is stifling businesses’ recovery from the state’s recent flood disaster.

The flood after the collapse of the Alau Dam on 10 September 2024 affected nearly half of the Maiduguri and Jere local government areas.

The residents reacted a few days after the Nigerian House of Representatives and labour unions asked the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to reverse the hike.

Amidst the calls to the commission, telecommunications companies, including MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile, increased their tariffs.

MTN, in a message to Pulse customers on Monday, said it had increased its SMS rate to N6 from N4. The message stated, “Y’ello! Keep enjoying calls at 23k/s to all networks and N6/SMS on Pulse.”

A one-minute call on the MTN Pulse Bundle now costs N13.8 per minute (23 kobo per second) from N7.8 per minute (13 kobo per second), representing a 76.92 per cent increase.

It also reviewed its data plans. A 1.8GB monthly plan for N1,500 replaced the previous 1.5GB plan priced at N1,000.

Its 20GB plan has been adjusted to N7,500, up from N5,500, while the 15GB plan now costs N6,500, up from N4,500. Its 90-day 1.5TB plan has jumped from N150,000 to N240,000, and the 600GB 90-day plan increased from N75,000 to N120,000.

Its two/three-month data plan of 100GB for N20,000 is 90GB for N25,000; 160GB for N30,000 is now 150GB for N40,000.

Airtel Telecommunication Company has also been updating its tariffs.

The hike comes while Nigerians are struggling with the rising cost of living.

In January 2025, the inflation rate stood at 24.48 per cent, following the removal of fuel subsidies, the devaluation of the Naira, and the electricity tariff hike.

Experiencing the new tariff, the Maiduguri residents said the hike was seriously affecting their business recovery.

“Because of the high rate of the airtime tariff for voice calls, I resorted to making WhatsApp calls using mobile data, but I later realised that even the data, which used to last for one month for me, will now finish in 10 days,” Usman Mohammed, a businessman, said, adding that the situation is becoming unbearable.

“Where are we going? Airtime doesn’t last anymore,” Zainab Abubakar, an online businesswoman, said. “I will have to use N11,000 worth of data as against N4,500 before the hike.

“My kind of business cannot go anywhere without online marketing. I make five to seven posts a day across my Instagram, TikTok, and other social media handles to promote my business. It is now becoming almost impossible to do that. I sell all kinds of henna and muhallabiya,” she added.

Mrs Abubakar is among many online businesspeople in Maiduguri who reacted to the tariff hike.

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Mustapha Modu, who sells provisions and offers POS services in the Customs Area and was affected by the recent flood in the state, said his sales of data and airtime have drastically reduced.

“Most of my customers, if I ask them why they are not coming, they will say data is no longer for the poor,” Mr Modu said, adding that if things continue like this, his POS business will fail.

The residents called on the federal government to review the tariff.

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) also called on the government to reverse the telecommunication tariff increment within 48 hours or face legal action.

On Tuesday, the CSO described the new tariff as unlawful on its X handle.