The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has urged Lagos and other states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital territory to emulate the government of Ekiti to reduce Right of Way charges.
Pantami said this while responding to the report that the Ekiti State Government has signed an Executive Order reducing the Right of Way charges for telecommunications infrastructure from N4, 500 to N145 per meter, becoming the first state in Nigeria to comply with the National Executive Council approved Right of Way charges for broadband deployment.
He said the reduction in the Right of Way charges will undoubtedly facilitate broadband penetration and ultimately, boost the national digital economy pursuit of the federal government.
“The report of the reduction in Right of Way charges by the Ekiti State Government is highly commendable. It will undoubtedly facilitate broadband penetration in Ekiti State. I hope other states will emulate the action as earlier agreed during our meeting,” he noted.
Following the hike in charges of Right of Way by 14 state governors and their agencies, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, had in January this year met with the Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
The meeting, it was disclosed discussed how to address the issue of Right of Way (RoW) and other similar challenges confronting the telecoms industry.