The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) has issued a 10-day ultimatum demanding a reversal of the recent price hike by MTN Nigeria.
The association said the 200 per cent hike implemented on one of its bundles was a “blatant display of greed” and warned that failure to reverse it would result in nationwide protests targeting MTN offices.
NAPS President, Festus Oyewumi, expressed deep concern over the impact of the increased data costs on students’ ability to conduct research and complete academic projects. He said it was “unacceptable.”
Similarly, the Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students Joint Campus Committee has announced plans to stage a mass protest at MTN’s head office.
The students’ demands include an immediate reversal of the tariff hike and a call for government intervention to regulate telecom pricing.
Recall that MTN recently increased the prices of its bundles. But one of the weekly bundles that gave subscribers 15GB of data was particularly aggravating as it jumped from about N2000 to N6000.
There was a massive outcry on social media and the operator reacted a couple of days later.
In response to the backlash, MTN Nigeria apologized for the sudden price increase, acknowledging the frustration caused to its subscribers.
In a humorous statement, the company admitted the hike was a mistake and appealed to customers for forgiveness, stating, “We get it and admit it. Let’s just say na mistake.”
Following the public outcry and pressure from various stakeholders, MTN removed the contentious 15GB plan all together.
However, the adjustments made to the tariffs were confounding to many subscribers, especially those who loved the massive 15GB. The closest plan to the removed 15GB weekly bundle is 7GB which is still priced at N3000. Two of those bundles will give a subscriber 14.5GB and cost them N6000, which was the cost of the controversial 15GB that the operator removed.
Many subscribers opined that at the end of the adjustment, they were still left with an even shorter end of the stick.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had earlier approved a 50% increase in telecom tariffs, the first adjustment in over a decade, citing rising operational costs due to inflation and currency devaluation.
However, the increments done across the data bundles appear to be well over the approved limit.
