Tinubu scraps 5% telecom excise duty in new tax law

• NCC unveils new consumer-focused reforms

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja*

The Federal Government has abolished the five per cent excise duty on telecommunications services, a levy that had long sparked public concern over rising costs for subscribers.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Aminu Maida, announced the development during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.

Maida explained that the duty, which was earlier suspended, had now been completely removed by President Bola Tinubu under the new tax legislation.

“The excise duty, it was the 5 per cent or so, that is no longer there. Before it was suspended, but now the president has been magnanimous to remove it entirely. I was in a room when it was raised, and he said, No, no, no, we cannot put this on Nigerians. I was very pleased when the bills came out and we saw his words were followed through,” he disclosed.

Maida stressed that eliminating the charge would ease cost pressures on subscribers and enable wider industry growth. He added that reforms within the sector were now guided by principles of transparency, accountability, and stronger consumer protection.

The EVC revealed that the regulator was moving beyond traditional rule-based supervision to incorporate behavioural economics, which includes providing more information for consumers and operators to make informed choices.

According to him, one key initiative is a nationwide public map of network performance, expected in September, that will provide independent data on download speeds, latency, and other service indicators.

“There will also be a quarterly network performance report based on user data. It extends accountability beyond mobile operators to also include infrastructure providers who play a critical role in reliability,” he said.

The NCC boss further emphasised the importance of corporate governance as a tool to attract investment and improve industry efficiency. He noted that the ultimate goal is to nurture a telecom company that is wholly Nigerian-owned, well-structured, and globally competitive.

He listed some of the NCC’s recent achievements, including the conclusion of the NIN-SIM audit, settlement of USSD debt disputes, transition to end-user billing, and the launch of a Major Incident Reporting Portal.

On call tariffs, he pointed out that competition had helped keep rates low, with the highest in the market today at about N18 or N19 per minute, compared to N50 per minute two decades ago.

Addressing frequent consumer complaints, he disclosed that the NCC and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had developed a new framework to standardise electronic recharge processes. In addition, Tier-1 audit firms were hired to investigate billing systems after reports of unexplained data depletion.

The results, he said, showed no systemic manipulation. Instead, factors such as background applications, device settings, and complex tariff plans contributed to user dissatisfaction.

“We are not trying to punish anyone. We want the industry to grow, so consumers are happier, operators perform better, and the government benefits from a broader tax base,” Maida added.

Also speaking, the Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Freda Bruce-Bennett, shared tips to help Nigerians manage their data better.

Bruce-Bennett advised subscribers to disable autoplay on social media, reduce background data usage, delete unused apps, activate data-saving modes, and use Wi-Fi where possible.

She disclosed that Nigeria currently has 172 million active telephone lines, with 141 million internet users, representing 81.9 per cent penetration, and 105 million broadband users.

On her part, Director of Public Affairs, Mrs Nnenna Ukoha, stressed the role of the media in informing Nigerians about NCC’s policies and programmes.

“NCC is passionate about driving sustainable development and growth, creating value for subscribers, and contributing to the economic growth of our nation. While implementing all these laudable transformative policies, you are the ones that transmit them and convey them to the people of Nigeria,” she said.