The Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives, Bismarck Rewane, expressed support for the planned tariff increase by telecom companies, describing it as a step toward reducing inflation and ensuring sustainability in the sector.
Speaking on Channels Television’s “Business Morning” on Thursday, Rewane noted that the proposed adjustment would yield both economic and productivity benefits.
“Yesterday, the price of MTN shares went up by 10% to ₦220.
The investors have already factored that in and are expecting a lot of good goodies,” he said.
Rewane highlighted the broader implications of the tariff hike, explaining that increased investment in the telecom sector would indirectly boost productivity, which could help moderate inflation.
“Any increase in productivity and output is likely to allow inflation to moderate, which is the goal.
So, we heard from the policymaker Bosun Tijani, who was very clear that we want a sustainable sector.
But we also heard from the regulator saying that we will hold these guys to quality of service,” he added.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, confirmed plans to raise telecom tariffs, stating that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would determine the modalities for the adjustment.
Rewane reiterated that the proposed hike would not be excessive, suggesting a modest increase in the range of 40 to 50%.
“Will they get 100%? No, they will definitely not. We suspect that we are going to likely see something between 40 and 50%, which is fair after so many years of static changes,” he explained.
The proposed tariff hike aims to ensure sustainability in the telecom sector while addressing inflationary pressures, with policymakers, regulators, and operators aligning on its implementation.
