Victor EzejaThe Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged state and local government councils throughout the nation to reduce the taxes levied on telecommunications businesses, claiming that a high tax burden will hinder the sector’s expansion.
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Wada Maida, made the call during an interactive session with journalists at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja, on Tuesday.
He said: “We are going to be going on an advocacy campaign to see how we can convince the states to remove some of these obstacles like Right of Way and multiple taxations because I have seen some studies which indicate taxation is almost 50% getting to 55% in some areas in this country.
“And you would agree with me that if we are trying to bring in foreign investment, that is not a good picture to paint.”
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The NCC boss pleaded with states to think about the long-term gains they would experience from permitting large investments in the industry, since job possibilities would be generated alongside other value chains in the industry.
According to him, the commission has created a strategic vision around five pillars to steer the telecom sector and guarantee that it keeps making the anticipated contributions to the nation’s GDP.
The EVC stated that in order to resolve the issues, the commission would implement “a total consumer experience.” The EVC highlighted the difficulties related to the quality of services provided by Internet service providers and mobile network operators.
Additionally, he counseled customers who were complaining about their data running out to examine their own devices, services, and digital services they were using without taking into account the financial consequences. This was because the majority of the issues were related to the kinds of phones they were using.
“Our approach will thus be to walk towards the expectations of these stakeholders, and everything for me starts with the consumer and the expectation of the consumer is very simple – quality of service.
“I don’t think you can say anything more than that. Quality of service and this quality of service, we are talking about a total consumer experience not just about drop calls or I can’t make a call,” Maida stated.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
