Phone Registration Fees: Traders Seek 120-Day Suspension, Warn Of Job Losses

The Association of Mobile Phones and Allied Products Traders of Nigeria (AMPATN) has urged the federal government to suspend the implementation of phone registration fees for 120 days, warning that the policy could threaten jobs and increase the cost of affordable handsets.

The association also called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to publish the legal framework and fee schedule governing the policy, alleging that traders had been asked to pay between N670 and nearly N4,000 for each imported phone.

The national president of AMPATN, Alhaji Sani Ibrahim, represented by the Kano State chapter chairman, Jamilu Bala, made the demands during a press briefing in Kano on Saturday.

The association said it supported efforts to register mobile phones to curb the sale of counterfeit and stolen devices but opposed what it described as the imposition of fees without adequate consultation and clear legal backing.

Bala said the charges could increase the prices of low-cost phones, particularly affecting students and low-income Nigerians who depend on affordable devices.

He warned that the policy could also affect millions of young Nigerians working as phone sellers, technicians, repairers, apprentices and other workers across the mobile phone supply chain.

“Our members contribute billions of naira in revenue to this country every year through customs duties, taxes and other transactions,” he said, adding that the industry had invested heavily in shops, warehouses and distribution networks nationwide.

AMPATN expressed concern that implementing the policy without addressing its objections could force businesses to close and leave many young people unemployed.

The association demanded consultations with stakeholders before implementation, an accessible appeals mechanism for phone owners whose devices might be wrongly blocked, and an end to what it described as threatening messages and enforcement actions pending clarification of the policy’s legal framework.

It also alleged that some foreign companies might be behind efforts capable of pushing indigenous phone marketers out of business.

Bala disclosed that the association had written to the NCC, petitioned the Senate and House of Representatives, and approached the Kano State Government over the matter.

He urged the federal government, state governments and the National Assembly to intervene, insisting that efforts to eliminate counterfeit phones should not undermine legitimate traders.

“A policy that is meant to fight fake phones should not destroy the people who sell genuine ones,” he said.