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Bank directors to recommend strategies for PPP

By BusinessNews Staff on October 22, 2013

The Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) has said its forthcoming annual stakeholders’ conference will focus on strategies to boost public-private partnership (PPP) in view of the growing demand for infrastructure in the country.

The General Secretary, BDAN, Mr. Yemi Idowu, said this while briefing the media.

According to Idowu, the forum tagged: “Public Private Partnership Innovations in Public Sector Financing,” will identify and articulate the issues and challenges of PPP financing in the country, and also “recommend measures or strategies that banks, other financial institutions and governments can adopt to navigate them in their quest to fund PPP sponsored infrastructural projects.”

Also, the President, BDAN, Chief Sunny Kuku, stressed that funding the infrastructural deficit in the Nigerian economy was the greatest challenge for all tiers of government.
Kuku explained: “Nigeria is peculiar with our funding structure wherein the tiers of government receive funds on a monthly basis and a greater percentage of revenues are allocated for recurrent expenditure. This inevitably leads to regular capital funding deficits for majority of the leadership of the component states in the federation.

“Hence the government has to consider other sources of funding for capital projects and social infrastructure. Some state governments have embraced the concept PPP, either through concession or Build Operate Transfer (BOT)/ Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) with mixed results. This is a major issue and that is where the banks come in.”

Kuku urged banks to help the private sector operators with a workable funding arrangement. He stated that bank directors association, a body of decision makers in the banking industry considered it as part of its capacity building roles to bring raise awareness and discussions on effective PPPs financing.

According to Kuku, the choice of the governor of Lagos state as the guest speaker at the event was a result of various infrastructural projects embarked upon by Lagos State through PPP.

BDAN is the umbrella body of bank directors in Nigeria. It was established to provide a forum for improving the knowledge and the competence of bank directors, thereby promoting sustainable banking best practices within banks in Nigeria, and collaborate with regulatory agencies and other stakeholders to ensure public interest. The association also contributes to the development of the banking industry through recommendations and comments on policy and topical issues in the industry.

[This Day]

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