The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore on Wednesday called on the office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, (OHCSF), to professionalise the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
In a statement in Abuja, the Director of Press/Public Relations of the ministry, Mohammed Manga, disclosed that Belgore made the call at the 4th Quarter 2020 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Units’ Consultative Forum (3PUCF) of all MDAs, hosted by the ministry.
The perm secretary, who was represented at the forum by Mrs Moremi Soyinka- Onijala, the Director, Citizenship and Business Department of the ministry, said that the call to professionalise the PPP Units had become necessary especially, given the infrastructure gap witnessed in the country.
He added that professional PPP Units would ensure continuity, reduce administrative costs, allow for shared risk, reduce the problem of budget constraints and facilitate easy monitoring of PPP projects across the country.
Belgore stated further that it had become imperative for government to look beyond its budgetary provisions for infrastructure development and embrace the option of PPPs that had been globally recognised as a viable project delivery process.
He emphasized that in line with the recent trends in PPP, his ministry was able to attract private sector investors for the development of some identified projects in the security sector, including Expatriate Quota and Citizenship Automation; Processing of non-judgemental Visa applications, Immigration and Borderline Management and the Production of Emergency Passports.
“And recently, the expansion and development of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS)’s shoe and garment factories in Aba, Abia, and a Leather Factory in Janguza, Kano State”.
Belgore disclosed that off-take and Concession Agreements were on the verge of being signed, explaining further that the ministry also had a number of pipeline PPP concept projects under various stages of development, notably in Staff Housing, Correctional Service Farmland Development, as well as Land Swap projects and other PPP concept projects initiated by the Federal Fire Service, among others.
The perm secretary announced that the ministry had so far recorded 45,751 business applications as well as 38,051 Citizenship applications from September 2018 to October, 2020, all of which had led to improvements in income generation for the Federal Government through the ministry.
Belgore lauded the support of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), in ensuring the projects had value for money and were beneficial to all stakeholders.
He urged members of the forum to take advantage of the knowledge and experience sharing sessions for speedy and successful delivery of PPP projects for the benefit of people and the promotion of good governance in the country.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, urged all MDAs to be proactive in handling PPP projects and ensure they focused on projects that would generate high returns on investments, with a view to ploughing back the profits realised to the economy.
Yemi-Esan, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties Office, Mrs Ibiene Roberts, implored MDAs to review projects that had lingered for too long and identify areas of challenge that the forum could be of assistance.
Also speaking, the Director-General, ICRC, Engr. Chidi Izuwah, noted that the commission had continued to deliver on its mandate, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions across the country, while commending the Interior ministry for hosting the 4th Quarter 2020 Session of the Forum.