Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has rewarded Nasarawa State with free wireless internet cloud to be installed in one of the state-owned tertiary institutions in recognition of the recent passage of the Right of Way Regulation 2023.
Governor Abdullahi Sule disclosed this while presiding over an emergency executive council meeting which was held at the Government House in Lafia.
Our correspondent reports that the State Right of Way Regulation 2023, which came into effect on the 29th of December, 2023 waives Right of Way (RoW) charges for the installation, placing, laying and maintenance of telecommunication network facilities in the state.
For passing this law which is considered as a huge step in the right direction in creating a healthy environment for the digital economy to thrive, Governor Sule said the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida has communicated the award of a free broadband with profile of 10km fiber network, a network operating centre, dedicated power bank for 10kva hybrid online inverter, 240 Mbps of internet service free and one line internet bandwidth free, all to be installed in a selected tertiary institution in the state.
Governor Sule recalled that the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic (IMAP) benefited from a similar gesture during the era of Professor Isa Pantami.
Also, as part of the agenda for the meeting, Governor Sule announced that the state is in receipt of some funds which his administration had pursued for the past two years.
He said it has become necessary to notify the executive council following the arrival of the funds last week, with the purpose of ensuring its maximum utilisation.
As part of its deliberations, the council discussed some of the projects to be executed from the accrued funds to include funding of the infrastructure fund that was passed into law since 2021, mandating the setting aside of five percent of internally generated revenue for infrastructure that would attract investment.
The council also considered deploying part of the funds either as loan or intervention to assist local governments settle outstanding payment to their workers for the N10,000 palliative for subsidy removal.
The meeting equally considered using part of the funds to either construct an underpass or flyover to decongest traffic around the Total Filling Station area of Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
Governor Sule announced the receipt of approval from the Federal Ministry of Works for the construction of the Lafia underpass but expressed concern based on advice from two of his colleagues who have already constructed underpass in Kano and Katsina states on the unsuitability of such edifice, especially in areas predisposed to indiscriminate dumping of garbage.
He explained that the council would have to decide between building either an underpass which has an observed disadvantage or a flyover.
“Based on that, I had discussions with some of the contractors, and they brought another suggestion, which will be better than an underpass but more expensive than underpass. That is the one from Zenith Bank or just before Zenith Bank on Jos Road. You can actually build an overhead, a one kilometer overhead or flyover. From there, it can go down one kilometer all the way past the round-about and drop just as you are approaching the Masallacin Gabas. According to them, it will solve all the problems of the blockages of the road,” he said.
He, however, said that the funds being considered for the projects may not be sufficient to build the flyover but that the project could still be achieved within three years.
