Collaboration between the federal government and the private sector will bridge infrastructural gap, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.
Speaking at the virtually inauguration of the National Council on Infrastructure, Prof Osinbajo said such collaboration will also trigger a coordinated development of infrastructure across all sectors of the economy.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, the vice president said the inauguration of the council was to promote collaboration.
The statement reads: “For efficient and effective implementation of infrastructure projects, the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan recommended the establishment of the National Council on Infrastructure and its Technical Working Group (TWG).
“The Buhari administration’s National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) was developed to provide an integrated view of infrastructure development in Nigeria with clear linkages across key sectors and identifies enablers for successful implementation in line with the current economic realities.”
“The NIIMP takes stock of existing infrastructure and specifically sets out the goal of raising Nigeria’s infrastructure stock to at least 70 percent by the year 2043.”
Despite substantial infrastructure deficits, Osinbajo emphasized the deliberate and massive investment in road, rail and power infrastructure for rapid economic development by the Buhari administration.
“A fundamental feature of our administration’s plan for the rapid development of the economy is a deliberate and massive investment in Infrastructure,” he stated.
He listed such facilities as the Second Niger Bridge; Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road (funded through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund); construction and upgrading of about 5,000-kilometre of major road projects across the country through the Sukuk bond.
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He said: “Investments in the rail sector include the Lagos Kano standard gauge lines, the Warri-Itakpe rail, In the Energy sector, this Administration has green lit NLNG Train 7, invested in the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline and is on track to complete an incremental 4,000MW of generating assets (such as Zungeru Hydro and Kashimbilla Hydro) to complement systemic reforms and investments in the Distribution and Transmission segments of the electricity value chain.
“The administration is investing more than $2 billion in distribution and transmission through the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative, the Transmission, Rehabilitation and Expansion Plan, the CBN financed Transmission-Distribution Interface Programme and the recently approved $500 million World Bank DISREP program for the Distribution segment.”
He noted that the Federal Government launched the N15 trillion Infrastructure Corporation (InfraCorp Nigeria) last year and the President also signed Executive Order 7, which has informed right policy framework and created some opportunities for Public Private Partnership (PPP) in infrastructure development.
He said: “The Reviewed National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (2020-2043) and the National Development Plan 2021-2025 also estimated the current nation’s infrastructure stock to be between 30-35 percent of the GDP in 2020 against 20 per cent of the GDP recorded at the inception of this administration in 2015. This is still a far cry from the estimated target of 70 per cent envisaged in 2043.
“The $2.3 trillion estimated resource requirement for the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan implementation was too large to be provided from public resources alone.”
Minister of State, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, thanked the vice president for his leadership and selfless service to the nation.
The private sector members in the new council include: Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) President of Mansur Ahmed; Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) representative Tasiu Wudil. (The duo were attended the inauguration).
The council, chaired by the vice president also has as its members, representative of the governors; ministers, heads of government agencies and members of the private sector.
Others are: Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) National President John Udeagbala; Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Babatunde Irukera; Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Managing Director/CEO Uche Orji.
They include among others: Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Ministers Mrs. Zainab Ahmed (Finance, Budget and National Planning); Abubakar Malami (Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice); Babatunde Fashola (Works and Housing); Abubakar Aliyu (Power); Mu’azu Jaji Sambo (Transportation); Isa Pantami (Communications and Digital Economy; Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources); Hadi Sirika (Aviation) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.