The minister of communications, innovations, and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, has said the recent increase in tariffs by mobile network operators (MNOs) was a sequel to the global inflation and rising cost of operation.

Tijani said this while briefing journalists after a closed-door budget defence session on Tuesday with the National Assembly joint committee on information, communication, and technology.

According to him, telcos have struggled with high operating costs and global inflationary pressures for several years.

The minister said the government was committed to ensuring the sustainability of the telecommunication sector and the protection of Nigerians’ interests.

“The hike in price is based on inflation globally. This is a sector that has not increased prices for a long time; what the government has been doing is managing the situation. They have been crying out for a long time that they are struggling with the cost of diesel. This is not a problem that is unique to Nigerians.

“We will ensure that MNOs can continue to deliver the best quality services to the people. The NCC is doing a lot of tracking now to ensure that the quality of the services people will get is of good quality,” he noted.