The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has suspended its planned nationwide rally over the proposed 50% telecommunications tariff hike.
Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary of the NLC disclosed this in a statement addressed to all its state councils and affiliates on Tuesday in Abuja.
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It would be recalled that the NLC’s National Administrative Council (NAC) had declared a one-day mass rally at all Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) offices nationwide in response to the tariff hike. He said;
Following our resolution, the Federal Government invited us to a meeting, where an agreement was reached to establish a 10-member committee to address key concerns raised by Congress.
As a result, our protest has already achieved success, as the government has conceded to some of our demands without the need for an actual demonstration.
In light of this development, we will now pursue other decisions of Congress on this matter,
Ugboaja commended NLC members for their support and encouraged them to keep their fingers crossed as they continue to engage with the federal government.
FURTHER READING: NLC blasts FG over 50% tariff increase, threatens boycott of telecoms services
Earlier, the leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) has criticised the Federal Government and telecommunications companies for the 50% increase in data and airtime tariffs across the country.
The organised labour rejected the decision, likening it to an assault on Nigerians' welfare considering the rising cost of living and skyrocketing inflation.
Joe Ajaero, the NLC President who spoke to journalists at the Labour House in Abuja on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, said the increase exemplified the government's apparent preference for prioritising corporate profits over citizens' welfare.
He called for an immediate embargo on the hike's implementation while lampooning National Assembly members for not standing with the Nigerian people regarding specific policies. He said;
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expresses its unequivocal condemnation of the Federal Government’s recent approval, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), of a 50% increase in telecommunication tariffs. This decision, coming at a time when Nigerian workers and the masses are grappling with unprecedented economic hardship, is a clear assault on their welfare and an abandonment of the people to corporate fat cats,
EXPLORE: Strike looms as NLC condemns FG’s 50% telecoms tariff hike