22nd November, 2019
Committed to addressing the age-long problem of inadequate infrastructural facilities through enabling legislations, the Ogun State House of Assembly has convened a public hearing where stakeholders were engaged on the proposed Public Private Partnership Law, 2019 aimed at developing public assets, funding and monitoring infrastructural facilities through feasible public and private partnership effort.
Consequently, stakeholders including representatives of the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Nigeria Medical Association, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Nigeria Bar Association(NBA), Tourism and Transport sectors amongst others took their turns to present their inputs into the bill titled: H.B No 028/OG/2019 at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The Stakeholders in their separate contributions lauded the leadership of the ninth legislature for collaborating with the State government at enacting the PPP law, which they noted would enhance the provision of public infrastructure, with a call for the engagement of the private sector partners at ensuring affordable fees or service charge on projects implemented, particularly roads, while ensuring international best practices in the construction and management of all infrastructural facilities to be implemented.
Commending the foresight of the present administration at improving the living standard of the people through the PPP initiative, they called for strict compliance with the public procurement law to aid transparency and accountability in the administration of public finances in the State.
They equally appealed to the State Assembly to further strengthen it oversight function with a view to appraising corporate social responsibility projects, promotion of local content and standardisation of projects built by prospective partners when the bill was eventually passed into law and assented to by the State Governor.
Earlier while declaring the public hearing open, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, said the desire of the present administration to address inadequate infrastructural development with a view to increasing revenue and creating more job opportunities for the teeming population, were responsible for the enactment of the law geared towards harnessing financial and other related resources to facilitate the smooth process of advancing development of the State.
Oluomo, accompanied by other lawmakers added that the bill would ensure that business organisations and corporate bodies operating in the State would be encouraged to contribute quota as development partners in the State, adding that the robust contributions from the stakeholders would assist the Assembly at enacting a law that would stand the test of time and improve social amenities in all parts of the State.
In his remarks, the Chairman, House Committee on Commerce, Investments and Industries, Hon. Kemi Oduwole, said that the current government was committed to ensuring effective management of public fund for the people oriented programmes and projects to ensure economic prosperity for the State, stating that the proposed bill would allow array of private and corporate bodies to harness resources with a view to achieving massive economic and infrastructural growth of the State.