As Christmas nears, Nigerians are expressing growing frustration over worsening electricity supply, deteriorating telecommunications services, and soaring domestic airfares, adding stress to the festive season.

Residents in major cities such as Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Ibadan, and Kano report frequent power outages, unreliable mobile networks, and prohibitively expensive flights. Despite repeated assurances from regulators and government agencies, service delivery in these critical sectors has shown little improvement.

In the electricity and telecom sectors, consumers say this festive season is worse than previous years, despite significant tariff increases. Earlier in 2025, mobile network subscribers faced roughly a 50 percent rise in call, data, and SMS charges approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), while Band A electricity customers experienced higher tariffs with promised minimum daily supply hours.

Almost a year later, telecom subscribers continue to report network failures, dropped calls, and poor internet connectivity, describing 2025 as the worst year for service quality yet.

The power sector tells a similar story. Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) had pledged up to 20–22 hours of daily supply for Band A customers, but widespread outages and unstable power continue to dominate, raising questions about the effectiveness of reforms and tariff hikes.

Air travel costs have also surged, with single-route flights to cities such as Owerri, Enugu, Warri, and Asaba now ranging between N400,000 and N480,000. While the National Assembly and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) have pledged to tackle exploitative pricing, interventions have so far failed to ease the burden. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development noted that the government has limited control over airline pricing.

Criticizing the state of the power sector, Kunle Olubiyo of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network said, “It is terrible that Nigeria’s electricity has not improved 13 years after privatization,” highlighting persistent failures to deliver meaningful change.

On telecommunications, Deolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), described 2025 as the worst year for service quality, citing fiber cuts, gas supply challenges, and inadequate protection of infrastructure. He urged authorities to enforce protections and resolve right-of-way disputes, noting that telecom infrastructure has been declared a national security asset.