Buhari asks MTN to lower cost of data

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked MTN Group to conduct a downward review of data price for its Nigerian subscribers.

Buhari said this while receiving members of the board of MTN led by Ralph Mupita, president/chief executive officer, at the state house in Abuja, on Friday.

The president assured MTN that his administration was doing everything possible to have a conducive environment for doing business in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is your most lucrative market in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as well as the source of a third of the income of the entire MTN Group. As such, we urge you to offer top-of-the-range and affordable service to Nigerians,” he said. 

“As we seek to make broadband widely available and affordable, we urge MTN to continue to support our efforts by expanding high-quality connectivity to Nigerians in unserved and underserved areas.

“I recently unveiled and launched the national policy for the promotion of indigenous content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector. I call on MTN to support the implementation of this policy and train and engage more Nigerians in your company.

“In particular, we would like you to continue to support our efforts by improving the quality of service and enabling a downward price review of the cost of data and other services, in view of your large market in Nigeria. 

“We also urge you to step up your Corporate Social Responsibility programs and support Research and Development that will enhance your services in Nigeria.”

 On Wednesday, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, had informed customers of a possible delay in service delivery amid rising insecurity in the country. However, the telecom giant said it would strive to deliver a seamless and uninterrupted high-quality network experience to meet customer’s needs.