President Bola Tinubu has scrapped the controversial 5% excise duty on telecommunications services, a policy reversal aimed at reducing the financial burden on Nigerians and boosting growth in the country’s digital economy.
Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, announced the decision during a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
Maida said, “The 5% excise duty is no longer in effect. 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’. That directive has now been captured in the new legislation”.
The scrapped telecoms levy, which applied to mobile voice and data services, had drawn criticism from consumer groups and telecom operators who argued that it would increase the cost of digital access and threaten the viability of businesses already struggling with rising operational expenses.
Recall that Tinubu first suspended the telecoms levy in July 2023 as part of a broader effort to review Nigeria’s tax system and ease multiple levies on businesses and households. However, the issue resurfaced in October 2024, when the legislators proposed reinstating the tax alongside levies on gaming, betting and lottery services.
With this latest decision, the Federal Government hopes to improve digital access, strengthen telecom operators, and support Nigeria’s expanding digital economy.
Reacting to the development, the President of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMs), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, described the news as soothing. He stressed that if it had been allowed to stand, telecom operators would still have increased tariffs on calls and data despite the 50% hike granted in January 2025.
President Tinubu had signed four major tax reform Bills into law on June 26, 2025, with implementation set for January 1, 2026. The legislation, collectively known as the ‘Reform Acts’, consolidates multiple tax laws, abolishes many minor levies, and raises thresholds to relieve small businesses.
