The 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 Right of Way Bill 2023 recently passed by the State Assembly.
The State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, disclosed this while presiding over an emergency Executive Council meeting held at Government House on Monday.
The Nasarawa 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 fibre 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.
Earlier provision of such Free Internet Network during Professor Isa Pantami era the Governor disclosed was installed at the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic (IMAP) to benefit the students and institution’s community.
The Governor also informed the Council of plans to wade into the unfolding security breaches in Toto Local Government Area, following communal clashes involving the Bassa ethnic group said to have invaded a community where Gbagyi people have settled in order to carry out farming activities.
According to Governor Sule, even though the matter was not part of the agenda for the meeting, it has become necessary to bring it up before the Executive Council because some lives were lost during the incursion.
While assuring that security agencies have already been deployed to the area, the Governor disclosed plans to convene a meeting involving Gbagyi, Egbirra and Bassa communities with a view to addressing overriding lack of trust and perceived acrimony existing between them.
“The security agencies have already moved in there, and we will be able to get to the bottom of it. But most importantly the moment we return from Abuja we are going to have a meeting of the Gbagyi, Egbirra and Bassa communities so that at the end of the day, we will be able to bring this to an end. It can not go on in this unfortunate circle,” he stated.
Also as part of the agenda for the meeting, Governor Sule informed the Council 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 Fund last week, with the purpose of ensuring its maximum utilization.
As part of its deliberations, the Council discussed some of the projects to be executed from the accrued funds to include making provision to support the State’s Infrastructure fund that was passed into law since 2021, mandating the setting aside of 5% of Internally Generated Revenue for infrastructure that would attract investment.
The council also considered deploying part of the fund either as loan or intervention to assist local governments settle outstanding payment to their workers for the ten thousand naira 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 refuse waste.
“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, then 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 problem of the blockages of the road,” he said.
Governor Sule however informed 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.