Lagos — Four months after the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, met with the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and resolved to implement the N145 per linear metre Right of Way (RoW) charges, as agreed between the governors and the federal government, 33 states are yet to comply with the pact, THISDAY investigation has revealed.
Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, last week signed an Executive Order reducing RoW charges relating to laying of broadband cable or any other telecoms infrastructure in the state from N4,500 to N145 per linear metre in line with the agreement.
Lagos State had an initial agreement with telecoms operators to reduce RoW charges in the state to N500 per linear metre.
Following the public outcry by telecoms operators over the indiscriminate charges on RoW, which they said impacted negatively on the spread of telecoms infrastructure across states, the federal government, in 2013, had an agreement with telecoms operators to implement a flat rate of N145 per linear metre on RoW charges.
"I expect that other governors will follow the example of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of Nigeria Governors' Forum, who recently crashed RoW charges from N4,500 per linear metre to N145 in the state.
