Oluwafunbi Bello 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) raises alarm over persistent right-of-way constraints delaying completion of a major power project expected to deliver 624 megawatts to Abuja and surrounding areas.
TCN’s Executive Director for Transmission System Provision, Olugbenga Ajiboye, issued the warning on Thursday during an inspection of the Abuja Feeding Scheme Project.
Ajiboye says several substations are completed and ready for energisation, but blocked transmission corridors have stalled progress.
“We are nowhere near where we expected to be because we are so constrained,” he says.
He identifies resistance from individuals and influential interests along transmission routes as the project’s biggest challenge.
“There are powerful people involved. We appeal to the government to intervene so we can deliver power,” Ajiboye adds.
The project, funded by the French Development Agency, is over 91 per cent complete but cannot be finalised until the right-of-way issues are resolved.
It includes 143 kilometres of 330kV lines from Lafia to Abuja and 81 kilometres of 132kV lines within the FCT.
Project consultant Anthony Uuajamah says the scheme’s substations are designed to stabilise Abuja’s electricity supply and support future growth.
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