Some Nigerians have taken to social media platforms to urge telecom companies and internet service providers to cut down data prices amid the enforced lockdown in some states in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun as one of the measures to contain the deadly virus.
The lockdown, which begins on Monday night, is expected to last for 14 days.
“Based on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and the NCDC, I am directing the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11pm on Monday, 30th March 2020,” he had said.
In countries like the US and the UK, it is believed that some telecom companies like offered free internet services to customers during the lockdown.
The development appeared to have prompted the calls by some Nigerians on telcos in the country to follow the footsteps of their counterparts abroad and slash data prices so customers can enjoy unlimited access to the internet throughout the lockdown.
“I strongly advocate for a slash in Data prices In this time of the #COVIDー19 pandemic, everyone is home due to the lockdown. We need to be regularly informed about the latest news. We need to be ONLINE We need all the Telecom companies in Naija to #CutDataPrices. Do it for Humanity,” a Twitter user said.
“We don’t want “double data” nonsense. Same thing they do with double credit and increase the call rates and before you know it’s your credit is gone. Simply reduce the cost of data, show Nigerians that you’re in solidarity with them this trying period,” another user said. Cable
Pix: Data network companies
