Ogun leads in ease of doing business in Nigeria- HoS

The Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, has said the State leads other states of the Federation in Ease of Doing Business, owing to the provision of requisite infrastructural facilities through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the State.

Onasanya made this known while delivering a keynote address at the launch of a book titled “Practical Guide to Public Private Partnership Arrangement in Nigeria” authored by Pastor Adebisi Sogunle and held at the Waterfalls Events Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

According to him, since the State passed the PPP law in 2019, the initiative has facilitated projects with road networks rehabilitated and expanded as well as reconstruction of the Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway among others.

He explained that the collaborative agreement between the public and private sectors was predicated on the strengths of both sectors to achieve outcomes that neither could effectively accomplish alone.

“Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State has harnessed the potential of PPP to drive significant developments and give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and as well create the necessary enabling environment for a public private sector partnership.

“This is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun. Let me, therefore, highlight some of the notable projects of the State Government and their impacts through PPP:

“The Ogun State Agro Cargo Airport: Developed in partnership with the private sector, the Agro Cargo Airport is designed to facilitate the export of agricultural products, thereby boosting the agro-industrial sector.

ii.Ogun State Housing Development Projects: Several housing projects, including the Prince Court Estate, have been developed through PPP arrangements to address the housing deficit.

iii.Ogun State Energy Generation Projects: Lisabi Mini Power was developed in partnership with the private sector to generate 4.5mw Power for transmission and distribution within the State to Government core areas.

“Other projects of the State Government in the pipeline through PPPs include the Olokola Deep Sea Port, Sagamu Trailer Park, Sagamu Stadium, Hillcrest Estate, PMB Estate, Lomiro Oil Palm, OGSG Pharmaceuticals, OGSG Forestry project, Gateway Hotel Ota, Inland Dry Port at Kajola/Papalanto, amongst others,” the HoS said.

While congratulating the author of the book for his contributions to the discourse on PPP, Onasanya said the valuable resource will no doubt guide policy makers, practitioners and investors in navigating the complexities of PPP arrangements in Nigeria and urged public servants as well as private sector partners to key into the messages of the book and apply its lessons in their endeavours.

On his part, the former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the book is timely because government alone cannot maintain all its assets, which requires the PPP arrangements, saying the arrangement paved the way for some major road infrastructure with particular reference to Ogun State and commended the Ogun State Government for keying into the initiative, which has created more job opportunities for the people.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Iziguzor said the PPP initiative has assisted Ogun State in achieving much in the area of infrastructural development and added that the arrangement, in turn, brought in more investors and provided job opportunities for the citizens.

In his response, the author, Pst. Adebisi Sogunle, while appreciating all guests for the support he got, said he wrote the book based on the experience he garnered while working on a PPP arranged programme in Cross River State.

He said the book will help in examining the roles of stakeholders because they have the responsibility to maintain the environment when political, economic, and administrative concerns arise while partnering.