Right of Way (RoW) resolutions is said to have stalled 32 power projects across Nigeria. The development has hampered billions of Naira spent on transmission projects that are meant to strengthen and expand the grid.
This was disclosed by Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State in Abuja.
According to him, issues surrounding the RoW has hampered transmission projects, which worth billions of naira, that are meant to strengthen and expand the grid.
What the Governor is saying about stalled projects
He said, “Most of these projects are stalled or delayed because of gaps in implementation of RoW resolutions that state governments are responsible for. Currently, there are 32 projects across multiple states stalled or that have been unable to begin post approval.The projects account for an investment of $137 million that the Nigerian public is unable to realise value from due to these intractable issues.”
What you should know
Right of Way charge is a levy paid by telecommunication companies to state governments, permitting telecommunication companies to dig up the roads and install telecommunications hardware such as optic fibre cables that carry internet traffic. The Right of Way charge has been fraught with inconsistencies across the states in terms of charges and has negatively impacted broadband infrastructure.
To harmonize the Right of Way (“RoW”) charges for broadband infrastructure investment, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in 2017, through the National Executive Council (the “NEC”), approved a policy, which resulted in a RoW Charge Agreement reached with all the governors of the 36 states of Nigeria.
The RoW Charge Agreement regrettably is yet to be fully adopted by the 36 states of Nigeria and in recognition of the slow uptake by the states the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami on January 14 2020 in a press statement called on states to implement the harmonization of the RoW charges for obvious benefits for the sector such as (i) deepening development/growth in broadband infrastructure and (ii) reduce the transfer of RoW charges costs by telecommunications companies to customers.
