Labour Fumes Over Telecom, Electricity Tariff Hikes

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has alerted its affiliates to prepare for a possible nationwide protest over the recent hike in telecommunications service tariffs and the proposed electricity band migration plans.

The decision was reached during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Labour Centre in Yola, Adamawa State.

The latest development comes after the congress expressed skepticism about the government’s commitment to implement the earlier agreement, reached on February 21, 2025, through a Joint 10-Man Committee, which reduced the proposed telecommunications tariff hike from 50 per cent to 35 per cent.

The labour centre warned that it would not hesitate to take action if the implementation of the agreement did not meet its expectations.

The NLC has also condemned the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC’s) plan to reclassify electricity consumers under the pretext of service improvement.

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According to Congress, this strategy is a thinly veiled attempt to impose unjustified tariff hikes by forcefully migrating consumers from lower bands to the more expensive Band A.

In a communique, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja described the move as “economic violence.”

The NLC accused NERC and the ministry of power of exploiting struggling Nigerians.
The congress warned that any further increase in electricity tariffs would trigger nationwide protests. It stressed that workers and the masses should not bear the burden of the government’s fiscal policies.

Part of the communique reads: “NEC categorically warns that should the implementation of the agreement on March 1, 2025, be not as agreed, the National Administrative Council (NAC) is mandated to immediately deploy all necessary instruments to enforce compliance in line with the February 10, 2025, Central Working Committee (CWC) directive.”

“On the migration of electricity consumers to increased tariffs, the NEC unequivocally rejects the ongoing sham reclassification of electricity consumers by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which seeks to forcefully migrate consumers from lower bands to Band A under the guise of service improvement while, in reality, imposing unjustified extortion on the masses.

“This systematic exploitation, sanctioned by the Ministry of Power, is nothing short of economic violence against the working class and the broader Nigerian populace.”

The NLC NEC reaffirmed the working class’s historical responsibility to resist all forms of exploitation and oppression and called on all affiliates, industrial unions, and progressive allies to remain on high alert and be fully prepared to engage in decisive mass action against all state anti-people policies.