Legal Challenges and Prospects in the Implementation of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Policy in Nigeria
Keywords:
Challenges, Prospects, PPP, InfrastructureAbstract
Public Private Partnership (PPP) as a procurement option in Nigeria’s quest for the reduction of deficit in its public infrastructure stock has not been wholly successful. In this respect, the paper looks at the challenges of PPP implementation as well as the prospects that in spite of these challenges, the PPP model remains a realistic solution to public infrastructure provision in Nigeria. Using the doctrinal research methodology to leverage on information from journals, conference papers, newspaper articles and internet searches, the paper was able to identify weaknesses in Nigeria’s PPP legal framework, the inadequacy of the PPP policy and processes, institutional conflicts in PPP regulatory environment, and the lack of PPP capacity and experience of both public and private sector officials as the major challenges militating against PPP success in Nigeria. However, in spite of these challenges, the paper was able to show that the PPP option still holds an ace of card in view of National aspirations for adequate infrastructure provision; insufficient budgetary provision for public infrastructure; increased enthusiasm of public sector officials to leverage on private sector finance and expertise; efforts by stakeholders to amend the dominant PPP legislation; the foray into the sector by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Finance with the potential of reforming the PPP financing aspect; as well as the conduct of the judiciary, which has left no one in doubt of its resolve to be fair and just between and among contracting parties. The paper therefore recommended an amendment of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act so as to expand the definition of PPP; recognize other types and tendencies of PPP; provide for ‘savings’ and ‘exclusion’ sections in order to mitigate institutional conflicts; and adopt a more all-encompassing and investment-friendly name as the words ‘concession regulatory’ in the short title of the Act is anything but user-friendly.
Downloads
References
i
J. Leitao, E. de Morais Sarmento and J. Aleluia, The Handbook on Public-Private Partnerships in Developing
and Emerging Economies: Perspectives of Public Policy, Entrepreneurship and Poverty (Emerald Publishing
Limited, 2018), 7; <https://www.academia.edu/36179545/The_Emerald_Handbook_of_Public_Private_Partner
ships_in_Developing_and_Emerging_Economies_Perspectives_on_Public_Policy_Entrepreneurship_and_Pover
ty> accessed 6 January 2022.
ii D O Adeyemo and Adeleke Salami, ‘A Review of Privatization and Public Enterprises Reform in Nigeria’
Contemporary Management Research Journal, [2008] (12) (4) 409.
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.
v F. Onuobia and O. J. Okoro, ‘Nigeria’, in Wereck B. and Saadi M. (eds), Public Private Partnership Law Review
(4th Ed., Tom Barnes 2018), 181 <https://www.gelias.com/Newsletter_April%202018.pdf> accessed 04 February
2022.
vi Leitao, Sarmento and Aleluia (n. 1), 7.
vii Ibid, 8.
viii I. Y. Mohammed and Y. Y. Babanyara, ’The Role of Government in BOT-Led Infrastructure Development –
A Lesson for Nigeria, Journal of Environmental Management and Safety (2012)(3)(6) 97 – 119 @ 98.
ix W. R. Childs, How Public and Private Enterprise have Built American Infrastructure 2
<https://origins.osu.edu/article/how-public-and-private-enterprise-have-built-american-infrastructure> accessed
on 01 February 2022.
x See further <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toll_roads_in_the_United_States> accessed 22 March 2020.
xi Leitao, Sarmento and Aleluia (n. 1), 2.
xii Ibid, 8.
xiii Josiah Nyagwachi and John Smallwood, ‘South African Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Projects’
[2015](1)(2), Journal of Construction, 225.
xiv Leitao, Sarmento and Aleluia (n. 1), 7.
xv In fact, the programme started with ‘the Right to Buy’ Council houses in 1981, but revved up in 1983 after the
reelection of the Conservative Party.
xvi Shigeo Kobayashi, Jia Baobo and Junya Sano, The “Three Reforms” in China: Progress and Outlook
(Sakura Institute of Research, Inc., No. 45 of September 1999) 1 <
https://www.jri.co.jp/english/periodical/rim/1999/ RIMe199904threereforms/> accessed 17 February 2022.
xvii Childs, (n. 9). The three elements of Hamilton’s financial system were the establishment of a national bank,
assumption of state debts and imposition of protective tariffs.
xviii UNCTAD, Bridging Gaps or Widening Divides: Infrastructure Development and Structural Transformation
in Trade and Development Report 2018: Power Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion, 103.
xix The problem of definition will manifest if it is defined from its delivery mode, for instance, the additional scope
of design in DBOT will change the definition of a BOT in PPPs. So also are concessions, Affermage, amortization,
etc.
xx African Development Bank Group, Evaluation of the Bank’s Utilization of the Public Private Partnership
Mechanism (2006 – 2016): Inception Report Volume 1, Main Report [03 April 2017], 9.
<http://idev.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/PPP-Inception%20Report%20Vol%201%20Main
%20Report.pdf> accessed 04 February 2022.
xxiPPP Legal Research Centre: World Bank, What are Public Private Partnerships? 1
<https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/overview/what-are-public-private-partnerships> accessed
03 January 2022.
xxii Faruk Sani, ‘The Legal Concept of Public Private Partnership and its Limited Scope in Nigeria’ International
Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science ISSN No. 2454-6186; DOI 10.47772 (IJRISS) (2021)(v)(ix)
825 – 833 @ 831 <https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-5-issue-9/825-
833.pdf> accessed 01 February 2022.
xxiii PPP Legal Research Centre: World Bank, What are Public Private Partnerships? (n. 6), 1.
xxiv Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act, 2005, Cap. 125A, LFN 2004, s. 36 and s. 7(2)(b).
xxv Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, The National Policy on Public Private Partnership (July
2009), 8 <https://estateintel.com/app/uploads/2016/05/National-Policy-on-Public-Private-Partnership.pdf>
accessed 09 February 2022.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License Terms
Ownership and Licensing:
Authors of research papers submitted to any journal published by The Law Brigade Publishers retain the copyright of their work while granting the journal specific rights. Authors maintain ownership of the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication. Simultaneously, authors agree to license their research papers under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License.
License Permissions:
Under the CC BY-SA 4.0 License, others are permitted to share and adapt the work, even for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate attribution is given to the authors, and acknowledgment is made of the initial publication by The Law Brigade Publishers. This license encourages the broad dissemination and reuse of research papers while ensuring that the original work is properly credited.
Additional Distribution Arrangements:
Authors are free to enter into separate, non-exclusive contractual arrangements for distributing the published version of the work (e.g., posting it to institutional repositories or publishing it in books), provided that the original publication by The Law Brigade Publishers is acknowledged.
Online Posting:
Authors are encouraged to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both prior to submission and after publication. This practice can facilitate productive exchanges and increase the visibility and citation of the work.
Responsibility and Liability:
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted research papers do not infringe on the copyright, privacy, or other rights of third parties. The Law Brigade Publishers disclaims any liability for any copyright infringement or violation of third-party rights within the submitted research papers.
