Despite the recent approval given by the federal government for mobile network operators and electricity distribution companies to increase tariffs, telecom and electricity customers from different parts of the country have expressed regrets over poor services; BENJAMIN SAMSON reports.
Telecom operators have since 2024 consistently called for tariff increments, saying the sector was at the risk of collapse if tariffs were not increased even as the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had, on many occasions, declared that the federal government alone “can no longer bear the burden of electricity subsidies,” adding that “it is not sustainable.”
Reactions
Nigerians who spoke with this reporter expressed deep concerns over the hike in the electricity and telecom tariffs, without commensurate improvements in the quality of services rendered by the providers.
Electricity
They said tariff hikes were biting hard on their businesses and monthly expenditures.
A cybercafé operator in Abuja, Sunday Iwuanyanwu, said that his monthly electricity bill went up from N15, 000 to N25, 000, despite irregular power supply. Iwuanyanwu complained that electricity supply in his area dropped sufficiently to as low as five hours daily.
He said that because of the erratic state of power, businesses relied more on petrol-powered generators to remain afloat, causing him to spend a minimum of N20, 000 daily on petrol to run his generator, aside from the maintenance cost.
A retired teacher, Hassan Maiika, said that the “high electricity tariff is not usually commensurate with power consumption. What the country needs is strong legislation by the National Assembly to protect Nigerians from undue exploitation by service providers and electricity operators.”
A private school proprietor, Miriam Haskenu, also said that her school relied more on generators to run the school.
She said that the school planned to install solar-powered inverters to help reduce energy cost.
A solar installation expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was an increase in enquiries about the installation of solar, following the increase in electricity tariffs.
Owen Egbunu, who owns a bakery, lamented the high cost of diesel, saying that he depends on his diesel-powered generator to be able to meet his production target, in view of the epileptic power supply to his area.
Egbunu said that the hike in electricity tariff, in the face of erratic supply, was taking a big toll on businesses in the country and should be addressed.
Telecoms
According to the subscribers, dropped calls, poor signal reception and failed data connections are often experienced on all the networks; MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile.
A subscriber, Angela Eze, said the poor services show that reasons given by both the federal government and Telecom companies for the tariff hike doesn’t hold water.
She said, “The telecommunication companies argued that the sector would collapse if tariffs were not increased. They have not been able to justify the tariff hike with effective service delivery because their services are really very poor. Everyone is complaining about poor services. They must improve on their services, particularly connection challenges often being experienced.”
Also, a Point of Sale operator, in Wuze, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Desire Amana, said the services of all the networks had been very poor since the tariff hike.
She said, “I often switch from one network to another in search of better connections because the entire network is fluctuating in my area. Telecommunication companies must improve their services to be commensurate with the new amount being charged on calls and data or revert to the old tariff.”
A businessman in Mararaba, Karu local government area in Nasarawa state, Mohammed Auwal, said there have been no significant improvements since the telecommunication companies increased their tariffs.
“I didn’t notice any improvement in their services after the tariff hike. In fact, their services have gone from bad to worse. Telecom companies in Nigeria are only interested in profit, which was why they cajoled the government to increase tariff despite the economic hardship in the country.
“Just watch out, these same companies rendering bad services to their customers will declare huge profits at the end of the financial year. The sad thing is that they are able to get away with the mess because of poor regulation of the sector,” he said.
He challenged Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to wake up to their responsibility of regulating the sector by ensuring that appropriate sanctions are meted out on Telecom companies found wanting.
Likewise, a civil servant, Israel Onu, argued that the federal government ought to have directed service providers to address hitches being experienced by subscribers before approving tariff hikes.
Onu said, “Subscribers experience low service provision, inconclusive calls, and high calls, among other service hitches and therefore need succour and not pains.
“Service provision is worse with the tariff increase and this made the situation more deplorable. The painful part of the telecoms tariff hikes is that the services of these telecoms have worsened because they are only interested in hiking tariffs and not in improving their services.”
For Usman Akintola, a student, the current network status in the country is not encouraging, saying the situation is even getting worse.
“The situation is causing frustration for many Nigerians, especially where the network was bad before. I think they should wake up to their responsibilities. The government also should call them to order. Many people are losing money through this epileptic service. There is a high rate of drop calls, slow video downloading and streaming,” he said.
Another subscriber, a telecom infrastructure contractor, Henson Oruma, said the declining service quality is quite discomforting for many people, disclosing that the challenges are as result of upgrades some service providers are carrying out.
“There have been complaints across the country because of the poor service. But I believe the development will be for some time. When the upgrades some of the telecom companies are carrying out are completed, I believe there will be significant improvement,” he said.
CSOs’ take
Speaking with this reporter, the Electricity Consumer Advocacy Forum, a watchdog group focused on promoting quality service delivery, professionalism, and accountability in Nigeria’s power sector, said the situation in the power sector was unfortunate.
The Executive Director of the Alfred Akpaki expressed frustration over the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) role in the ongoing tariff increases.
He said, “NERC will always hide behind and make people blame the Distribution Companies (DisCos). If NERC does what they are supposed to do, it shouldn’t be like that. They have to improve on their regulatory role.
“Despite recent astronomical hikes in electricity tariff, authorities in the power sector seem incapable of putting an end to poor electricity supply. Addressing these challenges would require more than a cosmetic approach.
“Today, electricity customers in the country classified under ‘Band-A’ pay 209.5 per kWh, following the federal government removal of subsidies for that category. Although that 300% increase in the electricity tariff was supposed to guarantee a minimum of 20 hours of power supply daily, incessant collapse of the national grid has rendered that impossible.
“In a report published last year, the World Bank rated Nigeria as the poorest country in the world on power supply to citizens with 85 million people not connected to the grid, and a loss of $26 billion annually.
“With everyone supplying their own electricity, the country has indeed been one of the toughest places in the world to do business. Many small and medium scale businesses have been crippled due to the prohibitive cost of generating their own power. Even the big business ventures, particularly the manufacturing ones, feel the biting effect of energy poverty with consequences stretching to every part of the economy. The lack of electricity has also limited access to healthcare, education and other opportunities for most Nigerians.
“Compared to competing nations in Africa, Nigeria is in a dismal situation. South Africa with one-third of Nigeria’s population produces 44,000 Megawatts of electricity and recently celebrated seven months of uninterrupted power supply. Unfortunately, despite the billions of dollars spent since 1999 to increase the nation’s power supply, not much has been achieved.
Also, speaking with this reporter, Ngozi Uzordike, owner of a financial consulting firm, said constant blackouts are a source of frustration and nightmare for businesses.
She said, “Already, most band A customers, who are expected to get at least 20 hours of power supply daily for being charged an exorbitant rate of N225 kilowatt per hour (KWh), are complaining of poor supply.
“We are on Band A but we struggle to get two hours uninterrupted supply; we have to apologise, reschedule appointments, and hope they come back..
“We are not alone. Businesses across Lagos are paying a steep price for the power sector’s struggles. The lack of power supply has increased production costs for many businesses forced to provide their electricity, mostly using diesel-run generators as alternative sources of electricity.
“While some who can’t afford to fuel their generator to run for at least a minimum of 15 hours a day are already out of business, others who can are battling with low patronage due to the cost implication of the high cost of fuel, dollar rate, inflation, etc. on their goods or services.”
Likewise, expressing his concerns over the poor service, National Association of Telecommunications Consumers (NATCOM) President, Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the service being offered by the network operators has become so bad that subscribers now lament openly.
He added that the telecoms, on their part, complained about their constraints to expand capacity.
He said, “Service delivery has been so bad. We are taking it up with them. They cannot raise the tariff and still be offering poor service.
“Prior to the controversial tariff increase, telecom operators under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had promised subscribers that the increase would enable them to embark on infrastructure development and network expansion that would lead to improved telecom service delivery across networks. Apparently, they have failed to live up to their promises.”
Justification?
According to the Founder, Jidaw Systems, Jide Awe, the issue is that telecommunication providers have been clamouring for an increase before now because their operating expenses had gone up.
He said, “As I am talking to you, there was no power supply for nearly the whole day. This is part of what they are facing too; the power infrastructure is not reliable. We must also factor in the subsidy removal, which has increased their expenses. Cost of doing business everywhere has increased.
“As I am talking to you, there was no power supply for nearly the whole day. This is part of what they are facing too; the power infrastructure is not reliable. We must also factor in the subsidy removal, which has increased their expenses. Cost of doing business everywhere has increased.
“Power supply is an issue they need to address even before the tariff increase. The issue now is that increasing the tariff may not solve the problem because they also need to address the fact that subscribers need affordable telecommunication services. The same high cost of living is affecting subscribers.”