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Kogi to set up bureau for PPP – Wada

By on December 1, 2013

Governor Idris Wada of Kogi said on Friday that the state would establish a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) Bureau soon to attract private investors to address its infrastructure deficiency.

Wada stated this on Friday in Abuja at a public presentation of a book entitled “Issues in Public-Private Partnership and Infrastructure Financing and Development in Nigeria”.

The book is written by an indigene of the state, Robert Achanya, an architect.
The governor, who was represented by his Special Adviser on PPP, Abdul Adama, said that when established, the bureau would facilitate coordination between project initiating ministries and private investors.

Wada gave the assurance that the bureau would be devoid of bureaucratic delays and serve as a hob for PPP initiative.

He said a bill to create legal and institutional framework for the bureau had been sent to the  House Assembly for passage.

“To make the state attractive to PPP investment, a Kogi-centric PPP law is being enacted to create the legal and institutional framework for PPP process in the state.

“The Kogi PPP Bureau, when established will be a hob for PPP in the state, devoid of bureaucratic delays and will facilitate coordination between project initiating ministries and private sector investors.

“Rather than being the sole provider, the emphasis of Government will shift to that of enabler, facilitator and regulator, focusing more on co-ownership, co-responsibility and equity participation,” he said.

The governor noted that the present state of infrastructure in the state was unacceptable but assured that his administration was committed to addressing it to achieve its agenda of urban renewal, effective public service delivery and the state’s economic development.

“Existing ones are bad, while there is an urgent need to construct new ones; housing and healthcare facilities require a marshal plan to make Kogi state a develop state,” he said.

According to him, as desirable as PPP is, it is a structured and complex process that takes a long time to attract financial closure.

Wada commended the author, saying that the state would benefit from the book as it came at a time when it was set to begin the PPP initiative.

The governor bought some copies of the book for N1 million.

The chairman of the occasion, Dr Ahmadu Ali, urged the youth to contribute to the body of knowledge in the country by writing books.

“Wherever you are working, whatever you are doing, write, contribute to the body of knowledge.

“The knowledge that you keep to yourself is useless, but when you share it, it becomes useful,” he said.

The author, who is the Vice President of Kogi Chamber of Commerce, said that he was motivated to write the book after attending an international workshop in Ghana on PPP.

Achanya said that with the necessary political will, PPP could be another sustainable means of raising finances to address infrastructure challenges in the country.

Prof. Ojonigu Ati, who reviewed the 10-chapter book, described it as a call to good governance and recommended it for schools, research institute and, Ministries, Department and Agencies.

 

 

[Daily Times]