 Welcome back, it's time for our very first hot topic. President Bola Tnubu has signed four executive orders, suspended the 5% excise tax on telecommunications. He has also, also it affects the import tax adjustment levy on certain vehicles, differs execution of finance act, customs tariff. Now to discuss this, as it concerns this 5% excise tax on telecommunications, I've been joined by Oladakbo Moses, former national president, private telecommunications and communications senior staff association of Nigeria. Good morning to you, Mr. Moses. Good morning viewers, good morning Nigerians, and I hope you are also getting the shower wherever you are. Is it raining where you are? Yeah, exactly. Which part is that? Where are you right now? Because? Which part of Lagos? Which part of Lagos? Okay, all right, because, okay, because Victoria Island where we are, it's not raining. Okay, so let's get down to, let's get down to brass tacks. So, 5% excise tax suspended for the telecom sector. Talk to us about how this sounds to you and the people in your sector. Well, sincerely, this news since the time of the last regime has been confusing. Because a late last year and after the 22nd or so, this was erased. And then the former minister of communication, there's a pattern objected it openly. Then the government also issued an order memo, I think, in March, that they are suspending the implementation on telecoms. Because what it means is that currently we are, you know, at the time of the last regime. Nigeria, we should talk to them about what happened to the data. Presently, a lot of countries are more shipwrecked than Nigeria in terms of data, services, phone calls, services, and the rest. So, funny enough, after the federal government said they were suspending that duty on telecoms, the minister of finance in April this year, I will share the event, came out again and said that there is no exception. And the taxes on telecoms, because it won't deal now, it is not very clear. Either this has taken effect or not. Though a lot of people think there have been three countries in the chattis to the combinations. But because communication is part of our lives, many people believe that, you know, the people you really prefer for service, at times you don't really check the covers, the narrows that are coming out that have been added to those services. So that's the confusion that is in that. Presently, it's a good thing that the credit has come out to do this. Because one of the competitors is the tax. Presently, they've been charged, they've been going through multiple petitions. Imagine you lay your infrastructure, state government now charges a right of way. They charges you, you know, for installation. And, you know, even some on conventional security, on license of people still charge instead of workers. And so with these, those are part of the campaign of government minister, that there is not very much taxation in that industry. So very often a lot of people say that because government wants to break money, it's like a trickle of a crippled industry. So does this executive act give you some sort of clarity as to what this means for your sector? Although it's been aptly captured as suspension. It's a temporary suspension. But does this give you, it's a temporary relief. Does this give you some sort of clarity as to what this means for your sector? Yes, yes. Suspending or total scrapping is a very good, yeah, even clarity. Like I said, the confusion has been a problem before now. So the president coming in to suspend it is good. But what we encourage him, what we want him to do is total scrapping. Though one of his message in his non-grasp wish was that he's going to stop multiple taxation. So we believe this is one of the benefits. And we welcome him, we welcome him to scrap it totally. So that Nigerians can, you know, presently Sudan charges the cheapest, you know, mobile data in Africa. So that presently we can come as low as that. We are the population. So the smaller we charge, the more some people will also come on this data. It interests you to know that despite Nigeria being looked like, all of us are tech savvy. The larger percentage are still not going to come on. Not because of charges. So Niger because of the phones and all that. So we believe that they are trying to now, the president coming up now, to stop the confusion of the past regime. That is fine for us. But we encourage him to scrap it totally. Because just like you do for people with spare parts, to make sure that it is reduced for both men. So we believe this is also by calling telecoms and putting more copies for telecoms and more competition. So what does it translate to for the consumers of telecom services? Especially this short period of the suspension. Yes, it's been done in lots for the subscribers. Like I said earlier, presently in Africa Sudan charges the least. And if you look at penetration, telecom penetration in those countries, it's very high compared to us here. Because we have the numbers, we have the population. And by far so far Nigeria should charge the least. Because the numbers we've had are so big. So for the subscribers, I want to believe that telecom companies should make this investment. Because sometimes last year there was a little dip, a little surge in those prices of communications. So like I said, people really don't take care of it now. But we want to care. Because it will be interesting to be able to connect the remote villages. Your grandma, your great grandma and come online with them. And talk without break, without crushing your discussion. And then also, for them to also incorporate the banking part of things. So that at the end of the day, we can also widen the banking gap. The telecom gap will widen the banking gap. So it's a good thing for subscribers. And we want the telecom operator to now make it reflect. If it had to be, like the foreign minister of finance said in April, we know it is suspended. We want it to reflect. We want prices to come down. So what do private telecoms and communication senior self-association of Nigeria, how do you push for things that would benefit the consumers? How would you push? You're asking for this to reflect. You know, how do you push as an association? How do you push for this to reflect beyond talking about it? Well, I don't know maybe the weather. It's really affecting the voice now. Because I have all telecoms. Like I said, I'm the next president of Telecom. I know. Yeah, but you belong to an association that I believe is strong. How do you use your association to influence the reflection of these deductions, the removal of these deductions they are talking about? Okay, okay, okay. So, Tessan is not the only industry trade union in the workers union in the telecoms circles. We have two or three other directors in the union. And at times, most times, we often exchange votes in these. And we are not sure that, though mostly, Tessan deals with the workers right. That is the workers in those telecoms on this. So, we ask for that pressure. Like at S.A.N., they are working on the consumers part of it. You know that Tessan, the workers part and the consumer part. Tessan's major goal is to protect the right of the worker in these telecoms. Oh, wow. It's become a little bit very difficult. In fact, very difficult to hear him, perhaps because of the rain where he is in the corridor. I don't know if he's able to get back to us. Mr. Moses, can you hear me now? Yes. I can hear you. Okay, no, just go ahead and conclude what you were saying. You protect the workers, not the consumers. Yes, yes. Tessan deals with the right of the staff, of the workers in those companies. So, we fight for those workers to get better welfare, to get their credit window, and to ensure that they are not eliminated only. So, what we have other partners, like at S.A.N., that these with the consumer and good, I ensure that, like this is happening now, this is happening now, to ensure that worker and use as consumers are not achieved, that they get a little government. I can hear you, for instance, going now, on the S.A.N., S.A.N. starts getting paid the better prices. The common prices should not be cut in the end. So, we have a partner that does that, and we are different in meeting with them, to encourage them to get their hands, and quality at the right price. Okay, so, you see this executive act that, you know, suspending the 5% exact tax, do you see it as a palliative that should be applauded? Yes, some sort of palliative, if it is done rightly. You know, I think that is a foreign nation. You know, it is this nation that, you get it done so globally. For example, look at Petroleum, for example, our unsubsidized petrol. We land last week, the prices are coming down, and unfortunately our first decision are raising prices. And when you want to buy, they will tell you that the arm will stop. But when prices go up, they don't have to stop. There is something wrong with them to walk. If the telecom operators implement this immediately, and not tell us they have to stop, actually it is a business on the head. I don't mean to embarrass, but we don't have to tell others they have to stop. You understand? Yeah. So let them implement it, so that we can feel the subsidy. Who, who, who? You just talked about the association. Yes. So how do we see, who ensures that they implement this immediately? Who ensures that? Is it a government? Two things. Two things, yes. When we work as a union, the NLC and others, we do not have to do this type. We work as the consumers association, like I told you, and we also mount the website. Unfortunately, we don't have the minister now yet, but that minister. All right. So who ensures that this new policy, this suspension of the 5% excise duties is implemented by the telecoms operator so that the consumers get to enjoy it, especially since it's a temporary relief? We are not able to conclude with this discussion because of bad network as a result of the rain over there, where he is in Ecuador. But we do appreciate your time, or Ladaquo Moses, former national president, private telecommunications and communications senior staff association of Nigeria.