₦airaland Forum

The decision of some State governments to increase the Right of Way (RoW) charge for telecommunication lines by 1,200 percent may force the telecom operators to increase the prices of data and calls, sources have said. The Right of Way charges by states are in contradiction to the resolutions reached by the National Economic Council (NEC) in 2013.

NEC had set up a Committee comprising state governors and ministers to review multiple taxations in the telecommunications industry. The Committee after consultations harmonized the taxes applicable to broadband related activities. The Committee agreed to the uniform RoW charge of N145.00 per linear meter of fibre.

In October 2019, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, wrote to the Governors, drawing their attention to these resolutions and soliciting their support towards realizing the National Digital Economy by fast-tracking the deployment of broadband infrastructure to provide internet access across rural areas. Despite this, the state governments have gone ahead to increase the charges on Right of Way beyond N145.

A top official of one of the telecom companies told our reporter yesterday that the only option left for the operators is to increase call and data tariffs noting that the governments were insensitive to the plight of operators. Another operator who also spoke on condition of anonymity said gains of the telecoms sector were being reversed by overzealous officials.

Meanwhile, the minister yesterday frowned at the state governments’ disregard of the RoW charge agreement. “We received with dismay the decision of some states of the Federation to increase the Right of Way charges in disregard of the resolutions reached by the National Economic Council (NEC)’’, he said in a statement. He said it was disheartening that some states have decided to disregard these resolutions and have, in some cases, increased the RoW charges by over 1,200%.

This will no doubt, he said, impact negatively on the efforts being made by the Federal Government. “We are therefore calling on all State Governors, especially those that have made public their decisions to increase the RoW charges, to reconsider these decisions in the interest of Nigerians as well as for the socio-economic growth and development of the country. “We also draw their attention that these decisions, if implemented, will result in an increase in the costs of operations of the telecoms operators which will naturally be passed to the consumers,” Pantami said.

A former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima has declared interest to contest for the presidency come 2023. Yarima, an All Progressives Party (APC) member disclosed this yesterday in Bauchi while speaking with newsmen shortly after he paid a condolence visit to a famous Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi over the death of his wife.

He said that various political groups from different parts of the country had approached him to contest for the presidency. “And by the grace of Allah, I will contest for the seat in 2023,” he said. Yarima who served as governor for eight years and senator for eight years, said if elected in 2023, he will fight poverty, create job opportunities and address the infrastructural gap in the country.

“The APC has set a standard of producing a presidential candidate through direct primaries and by the grace of Allah I will contest the primaries. People will look for a candidate that has something to offer for the country, a common man will not look for money but will look for what I can offer to the country,” he said. He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his fight against corruption and security challenges, urging him to do more to address poverty and unemployment.

Happyguy201:
im leaving this country to kaduna . i cant take this anymore

…workers, contractors risk delayed pay

Lower amounts of revenue might be available for sharing by the three tiers of government through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the coming months as the cost borne by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to subsidise petrol has increased by about N17 per litre, Daily Trust reports. Subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol, rose to N38 per litre on Monday, according to figures obtained from the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). Subsidy or technically, under-recovery, averaged N21 per litre in December 2019, the data showed.

The latest increase comes just as oil prices on Monday climbed above $70 a barrel for the first time in four months. The rise in the price of oil followed fears that the US airstrike that killed Iran’s top military commander may trigger retaliation and disrupt global oil supplies. Rising tensions between the U.S and Iran have caused considerable turbulence in the oil markets.

Daily Trust reports that whenever there is a surge in oil price, the expectation is that Nigeria will earn more dollars from crude exports but because the country imports the bulk of petrol it consumes and sells below the market price, NNPC which is the sole importer of the product for Nigeria, incurs billions in subsidy (under-recovery) daily. The PPPRA figure showed that PMS landing cost increased from N162.91 per litre in December to N164.13 on Monday just as the open market price for the commodity soared to N183.50 on Monday, compared to N182.28 in December.

The latest increase shows N38 per litre difference which NNPC currently incurs. PPPRA estimates daily NNPC under-recovery (subsidy) at over N1.2 billion. It means that on a daily basis, over N1.2bn cannot go to the treasury for sharing to all the states. Daily Trust reports that heavy subsidy burden in the past have contributed to NNPC’s failure to meet its obligation to FAAC thereby leaving federal and state workers including contractors without salaries or pay for months.

FAAC is made up of the 36 state commissioners of finance including officials of federal revenue generating agencies who gather in Abuja monthly to share monies earned the previous month. The major revenue generating agencies include customs, FIRS and NNPC and remittances by the NNPC form the largest chunk of the monies shared at FAAC but NNPC remits funds only after deducting expenses including subsidy (under-recovery) on petrol.