President Bola Tinubu has approved the decentralisation of
Nigeria’s public-private partnership (PPP) project approval process.
The move empowers the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory
Commission (ICRC) to implement new approval thresholds for ministries,
departments and agencies (MDAs).
Under the new framework, PPP projects valued below N10
billion for parastatals and N20 billion for ministries can now be approved
internally by project approval boards (PABs), subject to ICRC guidelines and
certification.
Jobson Ewalefoh, director-general of the ICRC, announced the
presidential directive in Abuja on Sunday, describing it as “a game-changer for
Nigeria’s infrastructure ecosystem”.
Prior to the development, all PPP projects — regardless of
value — were required to go through the federal executive council (FEC),
resulting in extended processes and limiting MDAs participation.
“Only projects exceeding the thresholds or involving
multiple MDAs will require FEC approval,” Ewalefoh said.
“Importantly, all such projects must be entirely privately
funded, with no government guarantees or financial commitments from the treasury.
“Notwithstanding the new thresholds, every PPP project must
be submitted to the ICRC for review and certification. The ICRC must issue
certificates of compliance before any PPP project can be approved by the PAB
and other approving bodies.”
Ewalefoh said the reform aligns with President Tinubu’s
broader push to overhaul Nigeria’s public procurement and infrastructure
financing systems.
He added that the new thresholds would unlock “low-value but
high-impact projects” in critical sectors such as health, education,
agriculture, and housing.
“With this framework, we expect private sector-led
investments in projects like rural diagnostic centres, school blocks, student
hostels, and affordable housing to be delivered faster, with less bureaucracy,”
he said.
The ICRC director-general said the framework marks a shift
from the previously adopted one-size-fits-all approach to a more dynamic and
scale-sensitive model.
“This approval is a game-changer, especially for sectors
like health, education, agriculture, and housing,” he added.
“We expect to see private sector-led investments in projects
like rural diagnostic medical centers, construction of classroom blocks,
student hostel and delivery of affordable housing schemes across the
country—with less bureaucratic requirements under the new adopted process.
“By decentralising approvals, the government is supporting
and unlocking investment opportunities through improved capital inflows, job
creation, and faster project delivery—exactly what we need in this current
economic climate.”
Ewalefoh said the ICRC will continue to promote, guide,
facilitate, and regulate the PPP ecosystem in the country, while collaborating
with other agencies in the infrastructure ecosystem.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com