ABUJA – Mr Tonye Apiri, an Abuja-based financial specialist, has called for more awareness on the need for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in developing infrastructure in the country.
Apiri made the call in an Interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.
“There is need for more awareness at all levels of government; the civil servants and all stakeholders for them to understand the importance of PPP.
“If we want to get our infrastructure right in the country, PPP must be adopted,’’ he said.
According to him, government is yet to get it right with PPP, adding that it remains an option to achieve inclusive economic growth in the economy.
He said the Federal Government was currently trying to learn from various mistakes in the past before the creation of Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
“Even at the federal level, may be they are doing a little bit but it is worse at the state level.
” Most of the state’s have not caught up with the vision of PPP; most states that passed PPP law have not done anything.
“ Because many states are believing that they will go to Abuja and collect revenue; they are not thinking of doing projects through PPP,” he said.
Apiri said that though PPP was not the final solution to infrastructure development in the country, it would serve as a means to help government in project development.
He suggested that government at all levels should look at private option in planning any infrastructure project in the country.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
The expert said that it would help to bring efficiency in the system which had always been the major problem in executing major projects.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
“One of the basic things to do is that government should put in place PPP policy and create PPP units and awareness to all stakeholders on the benefits of PPP,” he said.
Commenting on the economy, he said that the Federal Government must ensure the diversification of the economy.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
He said total dependence on oil should be discouraged and effort geared towards ensuring that the non-oil sector of the economy was opened to contribute to the growth of the economy.
He said that devaluation of the currency at this point may also pose a lot of challenges to the economy, noting that it might trigger inflation.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”8″]
“Government must find a way to expand our economy and look at a lot of things that we are not getting right that would have helped our economy,” Apiri said. (NAN)
banker of the day - FREE banker tips from experts