Hidden fees are stalling Nigeria’s broadband expansion plans, as several state governments impose exorbitant application charges of up to N700,000 on telecom operators despite a national policy designed to make fibre deployment cheaper.
These backdoor charges are undermining the Federal Government’s harmonised N145-per-linear-metre Right-of-Way (RoW) policy. The benchmark, adopted by state governors following a 2020 directive from the National Economic Council, was introduced to standardise and reduce the prohibitive costs of laying broadband infrastructure across the country.
However, ease of doing business data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reveals that state-level compliance remains highly inconsistent. While some states have officially adopted the N145 rate, others have circumvented the policy’s intent by introducing steep administrative levies or maintaining RoW charges well above the agreed rate.
Ekiti adopted the N145-per-metre RoW charge but imposed an application fee of N700,000, the highest identified in the data. Taraba and Cross River states follow
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