By Ayomide Otitoju
Nigerian workers may now be spending up to 10% of the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage on data subscriptions following a recent tariff hike under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The federal government approved a 50% increase in data tariffs after telecommunications companies cited rising operational costs as the justification for the price adjustment.
Under the revised tariff structure, MTN users now pay N7,500 for 20GB of data—equivalent to 10.7% of the national minimum wage. Meanwhile, Globacom and Airtel charge N5,000 for 24GB, meaning their subscribers allocate approximately 7.1% of their earnings to data subscriptions. On average, Nigerian workers now spend around 8% of their wages on mobile data across the three major networks—MTN, Glo, and Airtel.
The tariff hike has sparked widespread criticism, with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatening nationwide protests. The union has given telecom operators until February 29, 2025, to reverse the price increase or face a full-scale shutdown of operations starting March 1, 2025.
As an immediate measure, the NLC has called on Nigerians to boycott major telecom providers—MTN, Glo, and Airtel—beginning February 13, 2025. The labor union is also demanding the recovery of funds allegedly siphoned abroad by these companies.
“If telecom operators fail to reverse the tariff hike by the end of February, we will embark on a total shutdown of their operations nationwide from March 1, 2025,” the NLC warned in a statement.
The standoff between the labor union and telecom firms adds to growing economic concerns, with Nigerians already grappling with inflation, rising costs of living, and stagnant wages.
