RoW frustrating TCN more than telecoms — Usman Mohammed

Contrary to earlier believe that issues’ bordering on Right of Way (RoW) on the extension of optic fibre cables, a critical infrastructure for the deployment of broadband across the nation, the Interim Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr. Usman Mohammed, has opened up, saying the issue remains a key obstacle in the power sector.

In an interview with National Daily, he said close to 80 per cent of all court cases facing TCN border on Row.

He revealed that having easy access within residential areas pose a serious issue especially in urban areas as it raises high cases of compensation and in some cases, stiff resistance by individual and corporate bodies.

However, when amicable settlement fails, either TCN or interested bodies may head to court, thus creating serious setback on the planned speed of progress in power infrastructural development.

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Mohammed averred that “Right-of-way is a big issue in Nigeria and this is one of the problems why we have court cases. For in the TCN, about 80 per cent of our cases that are in court have to do with right-of-way issues. So it is a big problem and I can tell you why this is an issue in Nigeria in contrast to what is seen in other countries”.

“You know I am the Chairman of the WAPP, and as the chairman I will tell you that we are building a line that will move from Nigeria to Niger and to Burkina Faso so that we can sell power to those countries. That line is a 330KV double sided line.”

“When we did the environmental impact assessment and we enumerated the cost of economic activities along the right-of-way, we confirmed that the line from Benin Kebbi to Kamba, which is the border between Nigeria and Niger, is just about 62 kilometres. We also found out that from the border of Nigeria or from Kamba to Kamai is over 300km,” TCN interim boss observed.