Roadblocks to Right of way: How States’re killing Nigeria’s broadband dream with wrong policies

…Only 11 retired of 36 states waive RoW fees

…Over 19,000 fibre cuts, 3,000 theft cases, incessant outages permission telecom operators battling losses successful 2025

By Juliet Umeh

As Nigeria races to articulation the world’s integer elite, 1 of its biggest barriers isn’t technology, expertise, oregon investment, it is bureaucracy. The way to the country’s broadband aboriginal is virtually blocked by what the telecommunications manufacture calls the Right of Way, RoW, problem.

At the Business Roundtable connected Improving Investments successful Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure, held astatine the NCC Digital Economy Complex successful Abuja recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, enactment the situation successful stark terms.

He said: “One of the astir important barriers to broadband deployment successful Nigeria has been the precocious outgo of Right of Way fees charged by authorities governments. 

“Although the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had agreed connected a azygous Right of Way (RoW) complaint of N145 per linear metre, varying rates crossed states proceed to origin delays and outgo uncertainties for telecom operators.”

A integer goal, a argumentation gap

Under Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan 2020–2025, the national authorities acceptable an ambitious people to execute 70 percent broadband penetration and deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic backbone by the extremity of 2025. As of August 2025, the country’s broadband penetration stood astatine 48.81 percent, with implicit 140 cardinal Nigerians having entree to the internet.

While that advancement is notable, up from conscionable 22 percent successful 2018, it inactive falls abbreviated of the transformative goals outlined successful the plan. Experts accidental that the uneven exertion of RoW policies is simply a large crushed why. For each kilometre of fibre laid, operators indispensable negociate abstracted agreements crossed 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, often encountering delays, arbitrary levies, oregon outright refusals.

The States starring the way

The Nigerian Governors’ Forum, successful 2020, agreed to harmonize RoW charges astatine N145 per metre to trim outgo burdens for telecom operators. But 5 years later, the world connected the crushed is mixed. According to the NCC, lone 11 states person wholly waived RoW fees, portion 17 others person capped them astatine the agreed N145 benchmark.

Between 2023 and 2025, Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara States joined the database of states that person eliminated RoW charges altogether. These argumentation shifts person made them models of integer cooperation, attracting caller web investments and faster broadband rollouts. However, they correspond little than one-third of the country, meaning the bulk of Nigerian states inactive enforce unpredictable costs that deter private-sector investment.

The outgo of inconsistency

The economical and societal costs of these argumentation roadblocks are staggering. Telecom operators accidental that each hold successful fibre deployment slows down entree to integer services, whether it’s mobile banking, online education, oregon e-health initiatives. Worse still, vandalism and infrastructure sabotage proceed to compound the problem.

Maida disclosed that betwixt January and August 2025, Nigeria recorded 19,384 incidents of fibre cuts, 3,241 cases of instrumentality theft, and much than 19,000 denials of entree to telecom sites. These disruptions person led to prolonged work outages, gross losses, and accrued attraction costs. 

“Together,” helium warned, “they show wherefore infrastructure extortion indispensable beryllium astatine the centre of our corporate agenda.”

Why azygous argumentation matters

Experts importune that achieving uniformity successful RoW regularisation is not conscionable an administrative necessity, it is simply a prerequisite for nationalist competitiveness. A harmonized model ensures outgo predictability for operators, shortens task transportation timelines, and boosts capitalist confidence.

It besides enables coordinated nationalist works truthful that roads, bridges, and utilities are developed successful tandem with integer infrastructure, minimizing accidental fibre harm and wasteful duplic...