President Bola Tinubu has removed the controversial 5% excise duty on telecommunications services, in a move aimed at easing financial pressures on consumers and businesses in Nigeria’s digital economy.
The announcement was made by the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, during a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
Maida confirmed that the excise levy—initially suspended in 2023—has now been officially scrapped under revised national tax laws.
“The 5% excise duty is no longer in effect,” Maida stated. “Initially, it was only suspended, but the President has now completely removed it. I was present when the issue was raised, and he firmly said, ‘No, we cannot place this burden on Nigerians.’ I was very pleased to see that this directive was upheld in the new legislation.”
The duty, which applied to mobile voice and data services, had sparked significant backlash from industry stakeholders and consumer advocacy groups, who argued it would increase the cost of digital access and threaten the viability of telecom operators already grappling with high operational costs.
President Tinubu first suspended the tax in July 2023 as part of a broader fiscal policy overhaul aimed at reducing multiple tax burdens on businesses and households. The suspension came through a series of executive orders signed shortly after he assumed office.
However, the issue resurfaced in October 2024, when the National Assembly proposed reinstating the tax as part of broader revenue-generating measures, which also included levies on gaming, betting, and lottery services.
The proposal faced strong resistance from the telecom sector. The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) argued that reinstating the excise duty would undermine service affordability and hinder sectoral growth, particularly at a time when reliable internet access is increasingly vital to Nigeria’s economy.
