The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for a nationwide boycott of mobile network services starting today in protest against recent tariff increases by telecommunications companies.
The move follows the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) approval of a 50% tariff hike in late January—the first in 12 years. According to the NLC’s Central Working Committee (CWC), telecom operators began implementing the new pricing this week, despite an earlier agreement with the Federal Government and NCC to further deliberate on the issue before any decision on a new telecom pricing structure.
Describing the increases as “unwarranted” and “premature,” the NLC has directed Nigerians to boycott services from MTN, Airtel, and Glo daily between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. until the end of February. The union is also demanding an immediate reversal of the tariff hike.
“The CWC strongly condemns this action by the telecommunications companies, describing it as a betrayal of trust, an affront to the principles of negotiation, a direct slap on the government and its institutions, and a disdain for the Nigerian people,” the NLC said in a statement.
