The Federal Government through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has said that it would conduct an audit of all Public Private Partnership projects to ascertain their performance as well as ensure that all the projects are insured as statutorily stipulated in the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Establishment Act, 2005.
Director General of the ICRC, Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh disclosed this when he paid his first official courtesy visit to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Tuesday.
During the visit, the DG ICRC honoured the Minister with the PPP Icon award. In the DG’s response to the Minister’s remark, he assured the Minister that the Commission was already working on evaluating the performance of all PPP projects as well as enforce the insurance policy for all the assets of the Government under PPPs.
“Talking about the audit, we are already putting in place mechanisms to start auditing the performance of PPP agreements that were signed in the past: this is not aimed at condemning or terminating them but to optimize them in the interest of the Nation.
“When it comes to the issue of insurance, of course it is a matter of law for all national assets, both hard and soft infrastructure that are concessioned through PPP to be insured.
“That is one area we are looking into and would very soon issue a directive that all assets under PPP must, in compliance with the law, be insured,” he said.
The DG who thanked the Minister for being at the forefront of utilizing Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in delivering key infrastructure needs, pointed out that his choice of the Ministry for his first official visit was in view of his performance and his adoption of PPP as a vehicle of realizing his mandate.
In his remark, the Minister commended the appointment of Dr. Ewalefoh as the DG of ICRC, describing it as a clear demonstration of the intention of the government to diversify the economy and allow the private sector to play its role, adding that his qualification and experience were unquestionable.