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Northern Coalition Rejects Telecom Tariff Hike

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2 months ago

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The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has strongly condemned the recent 50% increase in telecommunications tariffs sanctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The group described the hike as an assault on the dignity and livelihoods of Nigerians already grappling with severe economic challenges.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, expressed deep concern over the timing of the tariff hike, highlighting that it comes amid widespread economic hardships, hyperinflation, and rising unemployment in the country.

“We are appalled by the insensitivity and lack of foresight demonstrated by the NCC and the Federal Ministry of Communications in approving such an exorbitant tariff hike,” the statement read.

The group also dismissed the NCC’s claim that the decision was based on extensive consultations with stakeholders.

According to the CNG, millions of struggling telecom consumers were excluded from the consultation process, rendering the decision unrepresentative and unfair.

The coalition emphasized the critical role telecommunications play in modern society, noting that access to communication, education, healthcare, and commerce is essential for economic survival.

” By approving the tariff hike, the CNG argued, the NCC has widened the digital divide and jeopardized access to vital services for many Nigerians.

The CNG called for the immediate suspension of the tariff hike and proposed a more reasonable increase of no more than 10%, which it believes would strike a balance between industry sustainability and the current economic realities.

The group also demanded the resignation or dismissal of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC and the Minister of Communications, accusing them of prioritizing corporate interests over the welfare of Nigerian citizens.

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“The leadership of the NCC and the Ministry have proven to protect their personal interests and have become insensitive to the plight of Nigerians,” Charanchi said.

Concerns Over Service Quality

In addition to criticizing the tariff hike, the CNG pointed to longstanding issues with the telecommunications industry, including poor service quality, failed calls, undelivered messages, and wasted data subscriptions. The coalition accused the NCC of failing to hold operators accountable for these deficiencies while allowing the tariff increase to proceed unchecked.

Call to Action

The CNG urged Nigerians, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to resist what it described as a “desperate and wicked collaboration” between public officials and private telecom operators.

The group warned that any policy worsening the economic hardship of citizens could have dangerous consequences.

“The telecommunications sector is pivotal to Nigeria’s digital economy, but its growth must not come at the expense of the people,” the CNG asserted.

The coalition reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for the rights and welfare of Nigerians, vowing to take all lawful measures to challenge the tariff increase and ensure the implementation of policies that uplift the population.

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National

JUST IN: Supreme Court sets aside judgment recognising Abure as LP’s National Chairman

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4 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.

It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.

The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.

It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP got being unmeritorious.

Details shortly…

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National

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed resigns as presidential political adviser

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5 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, special adviser on political matters to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has resigned from his position, According to Daily Trust.

The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) resigned two weeks ago.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Baba-Ahmed as special adviser on political matters to Shettima in September 2023.

Baba-Ahmed is the elder sibling of Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.

Baba-Ahmed served as chief of staff to Bukola Saraki, former senate president, from 2017-2019.

CONFRONTATION WITH MATAWALLE OVER NEF

In April 2024, Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, described the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group stated that the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.

In his reaction to Matawalle’s remarks, Baba-Ahmed said it would have served the Tinubu administration better if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.

“Scathing criticism of NEF by a junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed said.

In a riposte, the minister said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.

“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.

“The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.

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“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.”

He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.

Matawalle is a native of Zamfara while Baba-Ahmed hails from Kaduna.

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National

INEC: We are not partisan in failed recall of Natasha

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6 hours ago

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April 4, 2025

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has denied being partisan in handling the failed recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, who was on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, explained how the Commission handled the process.

“In the case of the Kogi Central District, we received a petition and a cover letter and of course what Nigerians were saying was that we were taking sides,” Oyekanmi said on the programme.

INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)
INEC logo and Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi-Central PDP)

“But what happened was that in the covering letter, the representatives of the petitioners did not include their address as required in our regulations and guidelines and what we just did was to ask them to supply their address, it has nothing to do with the petition.

“And of course, there is nowhere in the law where INEC is asked to reject a petition just because the cover letter did not contain the address. So, there was no hanky-panky in what we did.”

Earlier on Thursday, INEC rejected the petition to recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, saying that it has not met the requirements.

The electoral commission said the petition to recall Senator Natasha did not meet constitutional requirements.

Senator Natasha was suspended for breaching Senate rules, prompting some of her constituents to initiate her recall. They claimed the move was to ensure their constituency did not lack representation following the suspension of the 45-year-old senator.

Asked whether there could be a repeat of the recall process, the INEC spokesperson said the law did not specify if the process could be repeated and how many times.

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“The law just talks about the threshold, the threshold meaning that if you want to recall, you must have, in addition to your petition, 50 per cent plus one signatures. The law did not specify how many times you can undertake that,” he said.

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