We are representatives of Nigerian businesses in the Airtime business and have been operating for many decades distributing airtime to Nigerians.

We have been bombarded with complaints from various customers about the exorbitant costs of the airtime credit scheme of some telecom operators and the lack of transparency concerning the charges for this service.

The critical questions of national importance to be answered are as follows:

Who are the owners of the businesses that provide the borrow-me-credit services?

Why are Nigerian banks and other small credit lending institutions not allowed to offer the same service?

Why did two of the top telecom operators make this service strictly exclusive to one operator and create a monopoly in the process?

Why did the telcos sign dollar-denominated contracts for services that are provided in Nigeria against the Central Bank regulations that products and services provided within Nigeria must be priced in Naira?

Will operating this contract between the telcos and the monopolistic operators not cause further leakages to the foreign exchange of the country and negatively affect the naira exchange rate to the dollars?

Will operating a strictly naira-denominated service in US dollars between the Telcos and the borrow-me-credit operator not lead to increased costs of service to ordinary Nigerians?

Will running the airtime credit business as a monopoly not lead to overpricing of the service to ordinary Nigerians?

How much is the revenue and profitability of the service provider?

Is it true that the contract with the service provider is denominated in US dollars to enable the service provider to evade hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes due to the Nigerian Government?

We are appealing to the appropriate Federal Government regulatory agencies to investigate all the above issues urgently and ensure global best practices that will eliminate all monopolies and ensure efficient and well-priced services are provided to Nigerians.

If the Nigerian Government is losing taxes and revenue because of the opaque nature of the contracts with the service provider, this should be brought to an end so that all legitimate revenues of the government are not diverted any longer.

The Telcos can become complicit if they don’t end the practice of signing contracts for services provided within Nigeria to ordinary Nigerians with only foreign companies charging the Telcos in dollars and cleverly evading taxes that are due to the Nation.

We call on NCC, EFCC, FCCPC, and FIRS to investigate these issues urgently.

Signed:
ASSOCIATION OF TELECOM ENTREPRENEURS
The Special Intervention Squad, Police Mobile Force, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Special Protection Unit, Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, K-9 Unit, Federal Investigation and Intelligence Response Team, and the Federal Intelligence and Security Task Force will work in concert with other security agencies. These agencies will strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Electoral Act, 2022, ensuring that all actions align with the principles of fairness, transparency, and order.

Additionally, aerial patrols will be conducted with police helicopters, while gunboats will patrol the state’s waterways and riverine areas to ensure security across all terrains. These comprehensive measures will deter any attempts to disrupt the electoral process and enhance the overall stability of the elections.

The IG also warned political thugs and individuals or groups considering violence or disruption before, during, or after the election that they will face the full force of the law. The message is clear—those who jeopardize the peace and security of the state will not go unpunished.

Furthermore, the IGP reiterated that only federal security agencies and members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security will be allowed to participate in the election. No quasi-security organizations, including state-backed groups like Vigilante Corps or Amotekun, will be permitted in the election process.

The security of the election is entrusted solely to the Nigeria Police Force and other federal security agencies, in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security. The Nigeria Police Force, alongside other federal agencies, remains fully committed and prepared to ensure that the Ondo State Gubernatorial Election proceeds smoothly, without incident, and in line with the highest standards of electoral integrity.