See What The Minister Of Communication Said Regarding NCC

FG did not Issue any directive in the increased of data plans

– The minister of communication, Adebayo Shittu says he is not privy to the NCC directive mandating some telecoms operators in the country to increase their
data tariffs

– Shittu says the government never ordered telecommunication providers to increase the price of data

– The minister assures Nigerians that the government is doing everything to ensure that they were not exploited by the telecoms firms.

NCC has been criticised over the proposed hike in data tariff.

Nigeria’s minister of communication, Adebayo Shittu, has distanced the Federal government from the NCC directive to some telecoms operators in the country to
increase their data tariffs from Thursday, December 1st of 2016.

The Brief reports that Shittu, speaking on RayPower’s Fact File on Wednesday, November 30, said the government never ordered telecommunication providers to
increase the price of data.

The minister noted that he was not involved in the decision process, was not party or privy to it.

He said:
“But I want to say that I was not privy to it, I was not a party to it, the government never gave any such instruction and the government as the representative of the people never have done that.”

The minister however dismissed suggestions that the proposed tariff hike had a political undertone

“There are reasons for what they have done, the reasons I’m sure will not be political, the reason will be more of logistics and all of that and as you have requested me to do I will do that.

This government came into the Democratic process and it has a duty to continue to protect the interest of Nigerians and I can assure you, we will do that and we will do the
needful in protecting the rights and privileges
of Nigerians,” he said.

He assured Nigerians that the government was doing everything to ensure that they were not exploited by the telecoms firms.

Shittu said :

“This government came into the democratic process and it has a duty to continue to protect the interest of Nigerians and I can assure you, we will do that and we will do the needful in protecting the rights and privileges of Nigerians Held hostage by a mafia in the telecoms industry and unsolicited text messages and there no sanctions".

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate has told the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to stop the planned hike in data tariff.

Senators resolved in plenary on Wednesday, November 30 that the planned increase was totally uncalled for and unfair to Nigerians.

Deputy Senate Leader Ibn N’Allah raised the motion on the increase in data tariffs by the telecommunications over policies of the NCC and all senators condemned it in entirely.