As of April 2025, 12 Nigerian states—together with Zamfara, Katsina, Anambra, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kaduna, Ekiti, Imo, Plateau and Niger—have formally waived Proper of Manner (RoW) charges to draw telecom infrastructure investments. Whereas these states are keen to forgo very important income, they’re discovering that waiving charges is simply the start of a a lot bigger and extra complicated equation.
Lagos stays Nigeria’s undisputed chief with 7,864.60 kilometres of laid fibre as of 2023, regardless of charging RoW charges starting from ₦850 ($0.53) to ₦1,500 ($0.93) per metre. Edo (4,892.71km), the Federal Capital Territory (4,472.03km), and Ogun (4,189.18km) additionally paved the way, none of which have eradicated RoW charges. Niger and Kaduna, two of the 12 fee-waiver states, are a uncommon exception, rating fifth with 3,681.66km and sixth with 3,028.88km respectively in fibre deployment.
This development means that charge waivers alone aren’t the deciding issue for funding. States with sturdy infrastructure, investor-friendly insurance policies, purposeful bureaucracies, and concrete inhabitants density proceed to draw extra consideration from telecom operators, no matter RoW fees.
Wole Abu, Managing Director, Equinix West Africa, informed TechCabal that right-of-way is only one part in the associated fee breakdown of fibre deployment.
“You could nonetheless estimate buyer demand, as return on funding is dependent upon income technology,” Abu stated. “When you deploy fibre to a group with inadequate demand or buying energy, the enterprise case will fail. Waiving right-of-way charges is an effective first step to incentivise funding. I consider stimulating native demand is one other essential step on this course of.”
States like Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Imo have important Gross Home Product figures however lag behind Lagos in each whole and per capita phrases. As an example, whereas Lagos boasts a GDP of ₦41.17 trillion ( $102 billion) with a GDP per capita of $6,614, Rivers State has a GDP of ₦7.96 trillion with a per capita GDP of $2,277, whereas Akwa Ibom’s GDP stands at ₦7.77 trillion with a per capita GDP of $2,962.
RoW refers back to the authorized permission telecom suppliers want to put down important infrastructure like fibre optic cables and towers throughout public or non-public land. With out this infrastructure, broadband connectivity and digital providers merely can’t scale. The Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC) and the Federal Ministry of Communications have repeatedly emphasised RoW reform as a catalyst for digital inclusion. Nonetheless, real-world outcomes counsel that the elimination of charges hasn’t been sufficient to spark the infrastructure increase envisioned.
The push to harmonise RoW fees throughout Nigeria started in 2013, when the Nationwide Government Council (NEC) proposed an ordinary charge of ₦145 ($0.09) per linear metre. The objective was to streamline infrastructure deployment and scale back prohibitive prices. Nonetheless, many states disregarded the directive, persevering with to impose arbitrary and infrequently extreme fees as a way of boosting internally generated income (IGR). It wasn’t till between 2020 and 2025, after a push by Isa Ali Pantami, then Minister of Communication and Digital Financial system, that some states started aligning with federal suggestions by decreasing or waiving RoW charges altogether.
The choice to eradicate charges varies by state, usually influenced by native circumstances. In Niger State, the federal government waived RoW charges for a number of variety of operators in September 2024 primarily on account of a surge in fibre cuts attributable to intensive street development.
“Our governor is setting up 1,200 kilometres of roads in his first 12 months in workplace. Because of this, we’ve been experiencing quite a few fibre cuts,” stated Suleiman Isah, the state’s Commissioner for Communications Know-how and Digital Financial system. Between January and February 2025 alone, the NCC reported practically 230 fibre cuts. That’s why the governor permitted zero naira RoWas compensation.”
The second motive, Isah famous, was to encourage telecom investments by reducing the limitations to entry.
Regardless of the push for harmonisation, solely 12 out of Nigeria’s 36 states have absolutely waived RoW charges. Whereas the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kwara State cost minimal charges—₦145 and ₦1, respectively—many others nonetheless current challenges. Telecom operators stay cautious, deterred by inconsistent laws on the state and native ranges. Even in states providing free RoW, the dearth of uniformity, overlapping guidelines, and added levies create a fancy and expensive compliance panorama that limits large-scale funding.
Securing permits for telecom infrastructure deployment in Nigeria stays deeply hindered by bureaucratic purple tape. Prolonged approval processes at state and native authorities ranges often trigger important delays. Even after installations are accomplished, some infrastructure faces disruption on account of harassment or arbitrary shutdowns stemming from conflicting enforcement by a number of regulatory our bodies.
Including to those challenges is the opaque implementation of RoW waivers. Many of those waivers are granted by way of government orders reasonably than laws, resulting in inconsistent enforcement. Telecom operators usually encounter hidden or casual “administrative charges” that drive up prices, regardless of the existence of official zero-fee insurance policies. In some circumstances, native authorities impose levies that straight contradict their state’s waiver commitments, additional undermining investor confidence and complicating deployment efforts.
Regardless of the widespread challenges dealing with telecom infrastructure deployment in Nigeria, some states are taking proactive steps to streamline the method and scale back limitations for community operators.
Niger State has launched a extra predictable framework: operators are required to pay a one-time, non-refundable utility charge of ₦500,000 ($311.8). This charge covers each preliminary deployments and future expansions. Even when an organization obtained its allow a decade in the past, it doesn’t must pay once more to broaden its community.
“When you utilized 10 years in the past and also you wish to broaden your community immediately, there isn’t a must pay one other charge. You simply want to tell the state you’re increasing,” defined Isah.
Anambra State has adopted a unique however equally facilitative method. There, community operators can apply for free of charge to the state’s bodily planning company. Functions are reviewed in collaboration with the Anambra State ICT Company, which helps assess their technical and spatial feasibility.
“We keep away from a number of digging. We interact the telco to think about the opportunity of leasing ducts to keep away from digging a number of occasions,” stated Chukwuemeka Fred Akpata, Managing Director of the Anambra State ICT Company.
Nigeria’s broadband development additionally hinges on creating “middle-mile” infrastructure—terrestrial fibre networks that join subsea cable touchdown stations to finish customers inland. Nigeria has solely 35,000 kilometres of nationwide fibre however wants not less than 95,000 extra, in accordance with the World Financial institution. The Federal Ministry of Communications’ new Broadband Alliance goals to bridge this hole, however its success is dependent upon collaboration throughout federal, state, and personal actors.
The fitting-of-way dilemma mirrors broader governance points: decentralised tasks, inconsistent insurance policies, and fragmented implementation. Till these structural challenges are addressed, Nigeria dangers falling in need of its broadband penetration goal of 70% by the top of 2025—it at present sits at simply 45%.
