The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said the new policy guideline which stipulates the role of the Bureau of Public Enterprises in Public Private Partnership (PPP) is a necessary tool in bridging the infrastructure gap in the nation.
The Vice President who said this Tuesday at the webinar organised by the Bureau of Public enterprises in collaboration with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) to showcase the Investment Opportunities in Nigeria’s Privatisation and Economic Reform Programme.
Osinbajo who restated the commitment of president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to mobilizing the private sector to participate in the country’s economy for efficiency and growth, also said that the collaboration by the three federal government agencies is to draw the attention of investors from around the world to the investment opportunities available in Nigeria.
According to the Vice President, the Federal Government alone can’t address the huge infrastructure deficits and economic needs of the country, hence the need for Public Private Partnership (PPP) which requires clear and consistent guide lines and arrangement for investment.
The Vice President expressed the hope that the new policy guide lines which clearly stipulated the roles of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) would clear the ambiguity between the two agencies and incentivise participation of investors in the investment opportunities that abound in the country.
The Federal Government had earlier on issued a circular, stipulating the roles of the BPE and ICRC with regard to PPP arrangement. The circular stated that the BPE would be responsible for the concession of public enterprises and infrastructure that are already listed in the first and second schedules of the public enterprise act and also act as a counter party on behalf of the Federal Government on all infrastructure projects being developed on a PPP basis while the ICRC would be the regulatory agency of PPP transactions with powers to inspect, supervise and monitor the projects and processes in order to ensure compliance with the relevant laws, policies and regulations.
In his welcome address, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh expressed delight at the said the webinar was a collaborative resolve by the Bureau and other investment agencies to radically change and grow the economy of the country.
Other speakers at the event include: the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning,Dr. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) Plc, Mr. Oscar N Onyema OON; the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku; Chief Executive Officer Nigeria Exchange Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola CFA and other captains of industry.