Vice President Kashim Shettima has directed the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to accelerate public-private partnership deals to drive Nigeria’s economic ambitions, targeting a $1 trillion economy. The administration is focused on attracting investment and ensuring strategic alignment with national development priorities. Progress is being made in key sectors, including power, with the deployment of millions of prepaid meters.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has issued a strong directive to the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), urging them to significantly increase the number of public-private partnership (PPP) deals as a key driver for achieving Nigeria’s ambitious economic goals.
The call to action came during the first NCP meeting of 2024, held at the Presidential Villa on Thursday. Shettima emphasized the urgent need to accelerate the development of viable, bankable projects that will fuel economic expansion and contribute to the nation’s overall prosperity. The details of this engagement were communicated through a statement released by Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, operating from the Office of the Vice President.
The Vice President underscored the administration’s unwavering commitment to attracting both domestic and foreign investment, while simultaneously ensuring that this capital is strategically aligned with Nigeria’s national development priorities. He articulated a vision where Nigeria not only becomes a secure and attractive destination for private investment but also ensures that such investment actively contributes to the overarching goals of the current administration and the long-term destiny of the nation.
Shettima highlighted that achieving the ambitious target of a $1 trillion economy necessitates a carefully calibrated balance between robust public enterprise and dynamic private sector participation. He stressed that economic prosperity is not accidental; it must be intentionally designed and sustained through the establishment and strengthening of strong, reliable institutions.
He pointed to positive developments across crucial sectors – mining, agriculture, and energy – as evidence of progress, specifically citing the successful sale of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko Disco) as a clear indication of renewed investor confidence in the Nigerian economy. This renewed confidence, he attributed to the ongoing policy reforms implemented by the government, emphasizing the critical importance of credibility, consistency, and clarity in attracting sustained capital inflows.
Furthermore, Shettima called for enhanced institutional coordination, cautioning that policy inconsistencies and overlapping mandates could erode investor confidence and impede the progress of vital economic reforms. Ayodeji Gbeleyi, the Director-General (DG) of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), provided an update on the meeting’s outcomes, detailing the council’s briefing on the progress of the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, which is supported by a substantial $500 million investment from the World Bank.
This program is focused on addressing Nigeria’s significant metering gap, currently estimated at 5.6 million, through the procurement of 3.22 million prepaid meters. Gbeleyi reported that contracts for 1,437,000 meters have already been signed and deployed across the country, with nearly 400,000 of these meters already installed within the eleven electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) nationwide.
He emphasized that these efforts are directly aimed at ensuring a stable and reliable power supply for all Nigerians and eliminating the practice of estimated billing, a commitment made by President Bola Tinubu. The BPE DG further explained that the bureau’s activities are fully aligned with President Tinubu’s broader economic agenda, which aims to reposition the Nigerian economy to achieve a $1 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the near future.
To realize this ambitious goal, the BPE intends to leverage optimized and revamped national assets to drive economic growth and significantly scale up the nation’s GDP. In a related development, President Tinubu has approved a N17 billion development fund earmarked for 8,804 wards across the country, signaling a continued commitment to grassroots development and economic empowerment
Public-Private Partnership Nigeria Economy Investment National Council On Privatisation Economic Growth
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