LAGOS CONVENES PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP STAKEHOLDERS FORUM
. . . Says model critical to development
The Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri Okunola on Monday stated that the competing needs for Government resources make Public Private Partnership model a critical component of socio-economic development of the State.
Muri-Okunola, who made the statement in Ikeja during a PPP Lagos Roundtable themed “Creating Sustainable Development through PPPs” commended the management team of the Lagos State Public-Private Partnership office, especially the Director-General, for putting together the Roundtable initiative just as a new budget cycle unfolds.
He said that public-private partnership is required to sustain the status of Lagos as one of Africa’s most preferred investment destinations given its strategic location, population and status as Nigeria’s commercial hub.
According to the HoS, “Government’s conscious and deliberate efforts in this direction, which also involved the restructuring and realignment of the State Public Service, resulted in the establishment of a special purpose vehicle known as the Lagos State Public-Private Partnership Office”.
He listed government establishments that were set up to promote public-private partnerships to include the Ministry of Wealth Creation, the Office of Transformation, Creativity and Innovation as well as the Lagos State Office of City Resilience.
He also recalled that the Lagos State Government in partnership with the Federal Government had, in 2017, set machinery in motion towards achieving a significant improvement in the World Bank’s ranking of Nigeria on the “Ease of Doing Business Index” which involved the review and streamlining of the business processes of about 10 critical Lagos State Government Agencies that are relevant to investment promotion.
Also speaking at the gathering, Mr. Olumide Adeosun, Director Strategy, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, affirmed that the investment climate in Lagos still has potentials for public-private partnerships in the Housing, Education, Power, Transport and Healthcare sectors of the State.
The PPP Roundtable explored the legal and regulatory framework of the investment climate in Lagos and was attended by interested investors, lenders, advisers, portfolio managers, insurance agencies and relevant government institutions such Ministry of Justice, Office of Overseas Affairs & Investment (Lagos Global), Ministry of Finance and Lands Bureau.
