TheCable

The federal government has asked state governments to remove the right of way (RoW) barriers to fast-track the expansion and strengthening of the national power grid.

Abubakar Aliyu, minister of power, said this on Thursday while speaking at the national economic council (NEC) meeting, chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Aliyu said this is to avoid some of the recent disruptions in power supply in the country, adding that some power projects which account for investment worth $137 million have been stalled.

The minister stressed the need for urgent attention on the issue of state government’s approval on ROW, which he said had hampered transmission projects meant to strengthen and expand the grid for better supply of electricity in the country.

According to him, 32 projects across multiple states were delayed because of gaps in the implementation of the ROW resolutions.

He said the projects account for an investment of $137 million that the Nigerian public is yet to realise value from due to these intractable issues.

In January 2020, TheCable had reported that 14 states hiked RoW charges.

The charge is the levy paid to state governments for laying optic fibre on state roads.