The Federal Government has scrapped the 5% excise duty previously imposed on telecommunications voice and data services.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) announced the revocation in a statement on Thursday, saying the decision is aimed at easing cost pressures on millions of mobile phone and data users nationwide.

The levy, first introduced in 2022 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, applied to both calls and data subscriptions and was justified as a revenue-boosting measure amid falling oil earnings.

According to NOA, Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu ordered the removal of the tax during deliberations on the recently enacted Finance Act.

Maida said the President’s intervention was designed to prevent additional financial strain on citizens and support Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy.

“This development is expected to bring relief to more than 171 million active telecom subscribers across the country, many of whom have already endured a 50% tariff hike earlier this year,” the statement added.

Telecom operators under the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) had repeatedly warned that the tax would be counterproductive, arguing that Nigeria already bears one of the heaviest tax burdens on the telecommunications sector in sub-Saharan Africa.