‘Lack Of Timeline For Commercial Disputes Affecting PPP In Nigeria’

The “lack of timeline for the hearing and determination of commercial disputes in Public Private Partnerships (PPP)” is affecting successful implementation in Nigeria.

Towards this end, the federal government has been advised to “introduce a framework for hearing and determination of all PPP contracts in the country”.

This will help in reducing the “delay being experienced in commercial disputes just like in pre and post election matters”.

A business law expert, Professor Mubarak Tijani Adekilekun made the observation while delivering the 273rd inaugural lecture of the University of Ilorin.

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He said the lecture was the first of this kind with a focus on the legal landscape of PPP in any Nigerian universities.

According to him, there is absence of adequate political will to ensure that the PPP model works in Nigeria and many developing countries in Africa.

He said in Nigeria, there is resistance from the civil servant who perceives the private sector concessionaire as the enemy that wants to take his job, relevance and income.

“The tendency is therefore to treat it as an adversary that must be overcome and rundown at all cost”, he noted.

Prof Adekilekun said for the model to work successfully, the federal government must fill the death of experts in the sector to allow states and the FCT handle PPP projects in states and councils.

He said the present situation poses a major challenge in addition to the culture of impurity where the government fails to or unilaterally rescinds the PPP agreement it voluntarily entered into.

The Nigeria government, be said, must focus on getting the best out of the PPP to develop infrastructure which is better than seeking loans at exorbitant service cost and other terms.

He added: “Africa is a continent with huge agricultural and mineral resources and home to about 10 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, 12 percent of the world’s oil and 8 percent of the natural gas reserves respectively.

“Despite this, the continent faces huge infrastructure challenges. It is estimated that over 640 million people, about half of Africa’s population, lack access to electricity, almost 418 million people have no access to safe and clean water.

“In fact, a World Bank report shows that about 40 billion hours are being spent annually by African women and children in search of safe and drinkable water. This is equivalent to a year of labour for the entire workforce in France”.

Prof Adekilekun said undoubtedly, the state of infrastructure development in Nigeria and developing African countries does not meet the requirements for economic development and advancement.

“As a result of the growing population and urbanisation, there is demand for new roads, light rail networks, bridges and tunnels, water and sanitation plants, prisons, hospitals, schools, dams, electricity, modern airport and other social and economic infrastructure.

“According to the African Development Bank (ADB), for Africa to fill the infrastructure gaps, an expenditure of between $130-5170 billion would be required annually for the next ten years.

“It is, therefore, apparent that governments and donor agencies alone, even at the best of economic times, lack the capacity to fill the infrastructure gaps. So harnessing private capital can help to speed up the delivery of public infrastructure”, he submitted.