By Donald Ugwu
Abuja – The Federal Government has hailed its infrastructure development partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the commendation on Tuesday in Abuja at the unveiling of DFID’s Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NAIF) Compendium of Achievements as it wound down five-year partnership.
The vice president stated that one of the key areas of concern of the present administration since May 2015 is revitalising the Nigerian economy.
According to him, DFID’s support through the NAIF programme has been immeasurable.
“NAIF’s goal to enhance the management of Nigeria’s infrastructure development towards power sector reform, more impactful capital spending, transport, roads, climate change and urban planning and development is aligned with and invaluable to this administration.
“As we all know, infrastructure is critical to spurring the economic growth, reducing poverty and improving life opportunities for millions of Nigerians.
“Improved infrastructure increases job creation, disposable income, security, through equipping Nigerians to tackle the constraints holding back the growth and entrepreneurial spirit of this country.
“It is completely clear to me that accelerated infrastructure development is critical to sustainable growth in Nigeria.
“NAIF has been a unique, strong and close counterpart of the Federal Government of Nigeria for about five years.
“The contribution it has made through its technical expertise has been quick and responsive.’’
Osinbajo noted that NAIF also supported the advisory power team in the Office of the Vice President which according to him “is also critical to his role as Chair of the Economic Management Team’’.
He said that the presidency looked forward to working with the next phase of the initiative and urged DFID to speed up action on the process for the successor programme.
The vice president described the unveiling of the facility as a celebration of the strong and enduring relationship between Nigeria and UK.
He expressed joy at the achievements recorded by NAIF and expressed the hope for greater achievements in the near future.
He said: “the publication records the notable achievements and the lessons learnt across key sectors of Nigerian infrastructure delivered through the partnership between NAIF and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“It is important that as this phase of the programme comes to a close, these lessons are not lost but instead used by stakeholders across sectors to structure delivery that works in Nigeria and for Nigerians.’’
Osinbajo said NAIF had shown strong focus and flexible relationship with many of the key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
He added that its efforts at extolling bold development across the MDAs were evident in both infrastructure development and capacity building.
“NAIF upholds our administration’s emphasis on monitoring and evaluation towards a more transparent and effective government that provides increased benefits for its citizens.
“We assure our friends in DFID that we will continue to appreciate our partnership with them which allows us to deliver change for ordinary Nigerians across all of our partnership areas,’’ he added.
The Managing Director of NIAF, Mr Mark Tomlinson, said the organisation assisted the Federal Government and some states in some programmes aimed at delivering infrastructure to the citizenry.
He said there was massive opportunity for benefit in the partnership as Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa with fantastic financial sector and massive human resources.
“There is a wealth of economic opportunities in this country; the question is how the leadership can unlock them in a way that development can happen and Nigerians see it as tangible in their lives.
“There are challenges of course, but with perseverance, resources and the will of Nigerians they will be overcome,’’ he said.
The MD said that reforms were not easy anywhere in the world noting that UK also had challenges with its power sector in the past.
“Within these reforms, Nigeria is far ahead and the question is making the right adjustments,’’ he said.
Prof. Chidi Onyia, the Power Sector Team Leader of NIAF, said the organisation explained to the Federal Government the need for substantial investment in the power sector.
According to him, over the years, capital appropriation to the sector has been low and not released in full, leading to the non-completion of power projects.
He said the problem had heavy impact on the transmission capacity of the country, adding that the focus was on how to address the transmission capacity to boost output by 650 megawatts.
Onyia noted that more gas and solar plants were springing up in the country, but that the capacity to wheel it was not there yet.
“What we are doing is working simultaneously with the government and guiding them with technical capacity on the transmission end to be able to push these projects through,’’ he added.
Onyia recommended that the concessioning of the nation’s transmission infrastructure would move the power sector to the desired level.
