HOW TO QUICKEN DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE – EKWUEME, DANIEL, NNAJI
Former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and the Presidential Adviser on Power, Professor Bart Nnaji have urged all stakeholders to renew the country's decaying infrastructure and make life better for the people.
The three eminent Nigerians spoke during the plenary session of the two-day Nigeria's Golden Jubilee Business Summit which began at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Daniel, Mr Adegbenro Adebanjo, Dr Ekwueme said it was a thing of regret that after many years
the country's independence power sector was still in dire strait, fuel was still being
imported and housing stock could not meet the needs of the people.
He advised policy formulators and those who carry out projects at all tiery of government to ensure that they put the interest of the common man in mind and clearly map out how they would benefit from such projects at the stage of planning.
Professor Nnaji told participants who included financial experts from all over the World and Nigerians in diaspora that President Goodluck Jonathan was committed to reenergizing the power sector to meet the country's needs. He said the Electricity Reform Act of 2005 had become the road map that all players in the sector must follow while the Federal Government would stick by its decision not to be the dominant partner in any Private Public Partnership arrangement.
Governor Daniel who presided over the session on Project Finance and Investment in Infrastructure said while it was imperative for government not to be directly involved in business, it was critical for it to provide the enabling environment and guarantee to the private sector especially in situation of what he described as national emergency as currently obtained in the power sector.
The governor decried a situation where millions of dollars are spent on studies and consultancy while the real projects fail to get off the ground several years after. He advocated that planning, studies and consultancy on projects should be done with reasonable fund for it not to eat too deeply into the project funds.
Governor Daniel while enumerating the various business opportunities for investment in Ogun State said the government decided on the Private Public Partnership template in line with global realities.