AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
The Federal Government has revoked the 5 per cent excise duty on telecommunications services, including voice calls and data subscriptions.
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) announced the development in a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, quoting the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida.
According to Maida, President Bola Tinubu ordered the removal of the levy during deliberations on the recently passed Finance Act.
He said the decision was aimed at easing cost pressures on citizens and supporting Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The move is expected to bring relief to over 171 million active telecom users nationwide, many of whom have struggled with a 50 per cent tariff increase implemented earlier this year,” Maida said.
The excise duty, first announced in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, applied to both calls and data services.
It was heavily criticised by telecom operators and consumer rights groups, who argued it would worsen the financial burden on Nigerians amid rising living costs.
The Buhari administration had defended the policy as part of efforts to boost government revenue amid dwindling oil earnings, insisting it aligned with global taxation practices.
However, operators under the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) maintained that the measure was counterproductive, stressing that Nigeria already bears one of the heaviest telecom tax burdens in sub-Saharan Africa.
