The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has referenced a statement by Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, that Right-of-Way (RoW) problems are hindering the progress and completion of up to 120 projects in the power sector across the country.
This was disclosed in a TCN statement shared with the press after the visit of members of the Senate Committee on Power to the TCN headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
The statement quoted Adelabu as saying that the present state of the wheeling capacity of the TCN is worrisome and needs enhancement considering its age but noted that such projects are capital intensive.
- The statement, “In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, OFR, disclosed that TCN’s wheeling capacity can be more enhanced if the state of its ageing infrastructure is addressed, and this is capital intensive.”
- “He also stated that more than 120 projects are stalled across the country due to Right of Way problems, and fund constraints.”
Problems of funding, vandalism
Furthermore, Sule Abdulaziz, Managing Director of TCN, noted that some of these stalled projects were started as far back as 2001, noting that funding is the firm’s major concern.
He said that vandalism of power infrastructure is limiting the TCN’s ability to improve power transmission across the country.
Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman of the Senate committee on Power, responded by saying that despite the substantial funds allocated to the power sector, numerous challenges persist.
However, he assured TCN that the committee would relay their requests to the Senate and consider revising its annual budget to enhance service delivery.
Backstory
In 2022, during the 124th NEC meeting chaired by the former Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, the then Minister of Power said that Right-of-Way issues were holding back projects in the power sector worth $137 million.
He called for urgent state governments’ approval of RoW to unlock the billions in power sector investments.
RoW deals with permissions to build infrastructure projects in areas belonging to states or federal governments.
