ICRC Will Accelerate Nigeria’s Infrastructure Development – Ewalefoh

• Unveils six-point policy direction

BY COBHAM NSA – The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) will streamline processes required to deliver Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects that accelerate infrastructure development and bridge the evident gaps in the country.

Accordingly, the Commission has unveiled a six-point policy direction to achieve its mission and stimulate the economy for the expected growth. Listed as the key areas are: Innovative Financing, Service Delivery Optimisation, Project Categorisation, Time Bound Delivery of Projects, Inter-Agency Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships.

Director General of the Commission, Dr Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, who made this known at a strategic retreat held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, explained that the policy direction tallies with President Bola Tinubu’s marching orders that PPP is required in every sector to bridge the infrastructure gaps in Nigeria.

Ewalefoh admitted that critical steps must be taken to advance the Commission’s mandate delivery, saying; “With the gap that we have in Nigeria, we need PPPs in almost every area, and PPPs go beyond building infrastructure, Service is a very key component of Infrastructure building.

“Even if we don’t build infrastructure, if we optimise the existing ones, what we will get will be novel, and the impact we will create will be so huge.

“If we use PPP to optimise the general hospitals that we have, what it will give us will be phenomenal”.

Offering further insights on his policy direction, the Director General said financing infrastructure would be a key focus for the Commission, pointing out that Innovative Financing was the core of PPPs.

He disclosed that talks were already ongoing with potential investors interested in knowing how safe and profitable investments would be as well as a possible timeline for delivering the projects.

Ewalefoh, while citing the Nigerian Integrated Infrastructure Masterplan (NIIMP), lamented that the nation’s infrastructure was weak and required financing to revolutionise the economy, adding that the need for finance is driving the Commission to focus on innovative ways of building financial infrastructure.

A statement by Ifeanyi Nwoko, ICRC’s Acting Head of Media and Publicity quoted the Director General as saying; “I am going to be involved in strategic partnerships, I will work closely with Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers of Agencies. I am going to lead from the front on most of these partnerships and collaborations.

“When you lead from the front, you mobilise others to do the same. When I said I am leading from the front, it is because I want decision making to be faster and to reduce the time required to deliver projects.”

On service delivery, Dr Ewalefoh said the focus would be on optimising the processes within the Commission, stressing that “when we know what we want to achieve, then we can set up tailor-made processes to achieve them.”

Also addressing the issue of existing PPP projects, he said the Commission will evaluate all concession contracts to confirm they are performing optimally, while ensuring the projects are a win-win for both the private investors and the government.

Additionally, the Director General said the message to all stakeholders, investors, strategic partners and all Nigerians is that the ICRC is open for business, even as he assured that project categorisation would be a major component of ensuring more efficient project delivery within improved timelines.

For him, these categorisations would be reliably achieved through the development of PPP project thresholds

Promising to “take very bold decisions” going forward, he said the Commission would, within the ambit of the law, resolve all encumbrances hampering the execution of projects as long as such projects are bankable and viable, while also being important to the Nigerian people and delivering value for money.

Among the key resource persons who featured as facilitators at the retreat were Prof. George Nwangwu, Dr Niyi Onamusi, Mr. Rotimi Teteye and Dr. Itunu Akinware.

Appointed by the President as ICRC’s new helmsman in July 2024 with the mandate to attract private sector funds to boost infrastructure development using PPPs, Ewalefoh has hit the ground running following his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.