A delegation from Airtel, led by its Founder and Chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal, met with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Thursday to discuss the company’s ongoing investments in Nigeria and the recent tariff hike in the telecommunications sector.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting with President Tinubu, Mittal attributed the proposed mobile tariff increase to rising operational costs, inflation, and currency devaluation.
He emphasised that the telecommunications industry requires continuous investment to maintain service quality and expand infrastructure.
“The situation has been generally tough. Inflation has significantly impacted costs—diesel, electricity, rentals, salaries, and transportation have all increased. The entire telecom network in Nigeria is imported, making it even more challenging,” Mittal said.
He reiterated Airtel’s long-term commitment to Nigeria, highlighting that the company has continued investing heavily in infrastructure despite economic challenges.
“We have been here for 15 years and have not slowed down on investments, even during the last difficult two years.
Last year, we spent $200 million, and we are set to spend another $200 million by the end of the financial year. Additional investments will follow, including $250 million for our radio network, $140 million for a new data centre, and hundreds of millions of dollars for spectrum expansion,” Mittal added.
He acknowledged that while the 50% tariff increase was necessary to cover rising costs, more adjustments might be required.
“We will work with the government and stakeholders to ensure a calibrated approach. As the Nigerian economy improves, we hope to manage inflationary impacts gradually,” he said.
Responding to Mittal’s remarks, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani stressed that the Nigerian government remains committed to protecting consumers and businesses.
“This government is extremely conscious of the state of the economy. The President carefully considers every citizen before making decisions,” Tijani said.
“We had to conduct a study, led by KPMG, to determine the optimal increase that would ensure sustainability without overburdening consumers.”
He explained that the telecommunications sector employs nearly half a million Nigerians, making it crucial for operators to maintain financial stability.
“If we had refused the tariff increase, we risked companies shutting down and losing jobs. It was a difficult but necessary decision,” the minister noted.
Tijani emphasised that the government’s focus extends beyond affordability to ensuring high-quality service.
“We don’t just want Nigerians to have access to telecom services; we want them to have meaningful access. That means improving service quality, which is why the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is shifting focus from just quality of service to quality of experience,” he added.
The minister also outlined the government’s investments in expanding connectivity, including deploying 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cables and constructing 7,000 telecom towers in rural areas.
“This is a journey. Achieving nationwide, high-quality connectivity requires significant investment, and we must encourage the private sector and the government to work together to make it happen,” Tijani concluded.
Also, Mittal said Nigeria is the soul of its operations in Africa, with the potential to match India’s advancements in digital innovation, connectivity, and financial inclusion.
Emphasising that Airtel’s success in Nigeria is crucial to its overall success in Africa, Mittal stressed that Nigeria’s strategic importance underscores Airtel’s objective to drive growth and transformation across the African continent.
“Nigeria is the most essential part of our Africa strategy. The entire Africa rests on the back of Nigeria for Airtel.
“And Nigeria is important to us, personally important to me. I watch over one country other than India, personally myself. That is Nigeria. I come here occasionally, and we intend to make Nigeria on par with what we see in India regarding digital innovation, digital connectivity, and financial inclusion.
“I can assure all of you here today that we come here with force for good for this country, and you will continue to see us being a very, very responsible corporate citizen contributing to the well-being of this country. Scholarship.”
The Airtel Africa CEO also announced the award of scholarships to 10 Nigerian students for full Engineering degrees at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels in top Engineering Institutions.
Mittal revealed that the company expects the Nigerian government to select the 10 students sent to India as part of the fellowship program.
Mittal lauded President Tinubu’s government for recent economic reforms, which he said will attract more foreign investment and improve business conditions in Nigeria.
According to Bharti, the Airtel Africa scholarship program, which is under the Satya Bharti School Program, began 15 years ago and has created a large ecosystem of 100,000 schoolchildren across various communities in India.
“So we started 15 years back with the primary school program in India, where the focus was girl child, free education, midday meal, computer in the school uniforms, and we created nearly a large ecosystem of over 100,000 school children going into various villages in India. And that program continues. We have then stepped it up with scholarships in the universities.
“That Satya Bharthi scholar programme has also started in a big way. Today, I can share with you that I was happy to hand over my letter inviting 10 Nigerian students to pursue full degrees, both undergrad and postgrad, in engineering at top institutions in India every year.
“We expect the Nigerian government to select the 10 students sent to India.
Speaking on Airtel’s commitment to the 3Million Technical Talent program of the present administration, Mittal said that Airtel aims to support Nigeria by diverting some attention to areas such as skills and education while contributing significantly to society.
“That’s a commitment to be a part of that. And we believe that just like India and many other countries, including in Africa, if we can divert some attention to the area of skill and education, we’ll contribute to society in a significant way. “
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