The Federal Government has abolished the five per cent excise duty previously imposed on telecommunications services, including voice calls and data usage, in a move expected to ease cost pressures on millions of Nigerians.
The National Orientation Agency announced the decision on Thursday in a post via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
According to the post, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Aminu Maida, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu ordered the removal of the tax during deliberations on the recently enacted Finance Act.
Maida explained that the president’s directive was aimed at cushioning the financial strain on citizens while fostering growth in the digital economy.
“The development is expected to bring relief to over 171 million active telecom users across the country, many of whom have faced a 50 per cent tariff increase implemented earlier this year,” Maida stated.
The excise duty, introduced in 2022 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, applied to both voice calls and data subscriptions.
It immediately attracted widespread criticism from telecom operators and consumer rights advocates, who argued that the policy would worsen the financial burden on Nigerians already grappling with rising living costs.
