Lagos PPP Office Identifies New Strategies for Greater Impact

Raheem Akingbolu

The Lagos State Office of the Public Private Partnership has held a three-day retreat for its staff with a view to deepening their knowledge of the core mandate of the PPP Office.

The retreat which held in Lagos was attended by staff of the PPP Office across all cadres, and it was resourced by experts and policy makers drawn from diverse fields and expertise in public-private partnership, infrastructure development, legislature, legal, finance and integrated marketing communications among others.

Themed, ‘Private Sector Collaboration: A service-driven culture for enhanced infrastructural delivery,’ also sought to empower the staff by exposing them to issues, challenges and opportunities, and current realities in the implementation of public-private partnership projects.

Welcoming the participants, the Director-General of Public Private Partnership, Mr. Ope George, said the key objective of the retreat was to provide a platform for the participants to refresh their mind, broaden their knowledge generally, and upscale their skill set.

He added that it was also designed to prepare them adequately for greater impact in the discharge of the PPP’s strategic mandate, stressing that the PPP Office is pivotal and very crucial to the accomplishment of the goals of the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration.

‘‘We are key custodians of the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; our role is very strategic. So, in order to effectively deliver on this important role, we have put this retreat together to retool every one of us for optimal performance in our respective role within the value chain,’’ George said.

Chairman, House Committee on PPP, Lagos State House of Assembly, Lukmon Olumoh, also in attendance, commended the Director-General for the quality of resource persons, as it underscores his vision to position PPP as a force to reckon with, in the efforts to build a greater Lagos through infrastructure renewal and upgrade. He went further to emphasize that it is imperative to review the Lagos State PPP Law (2011) to properly create a more robust and enabling legal and regulatory framework for viable and bankable projects.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Concessions: Regulating and monitoring compliance of terms and conditions of projects against market externalities’, Managing Partner/CEO, G A Capital Ltd, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, emphasised that establishing a framework is germane to a successful PPP programme which can only be achieved where there is political will, consistency and continuity in project plan, integration and collaboration among all relevant stakeholders, clear assigned roles and responsibility, and high breed of opportunities for investors.

He added that the procurement process for any PPP programme must also be smooth and straightened by ensuring that stakeholders are well informed of the breadth and depth of projects, and clear about indemnities and guarantees through refining the legal and regulatory frameworks to align with best practices.