Reps threaten cancelation of PPP and concessions in transport ministry
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has issued a stern warning to cancel all Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreements and concessions within the Federal Ministry of Transport.
The announcement came during a session in Abuja where the committee interrogated officials from the ministry, led by Permanent Secretary Pius Oteh.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ademorin Kuye, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of compliance with existing laws in the PPP and concessions agreements, particularly concerning the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and the Railway Property Management Company Limited (RPMC).
Kuye stated that non-compliance with extant laws could lead to the cancellation of these agreements.
Oteh also told the committee that the ministry has over 170 leases but was unable to provide the relevant documents as required by the lawmakers to prove whether there were compliance with the extent laws.
One of the required documents is the receipt of payment which the lawmakers said was not attached to the documents submitted by the ministry in disregard to their request.
The committee in its resolution invited the Minister of Transport, Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Railway Corporation and other relevant organisations to appear on their next sitting.
The chairman warned that the committee will not hesitate to invoke relevant constitutional provisions if any organisation fails to honour their invitation.
“As you may be aware, this committee will not hesitate to invoke the relevant constitutional provisions if any head of ministry, agency or department fails to honour the invitation of this committee.
“We can issue an arrest warrant and direct the relevant security agencies to bring such person here,” he said.
He noted that improper management of government assets through public Private Partnership and Concessions has been one of the major challenges in infrastructure development.
It would be recalled that the House of Reps through its resolution in Feb. mandated the committee on Public Assets and Special Duties to probe Public-Private Partnership initiatives and concession agreements across the country.
The committee noted that in spite of initiating several PPPs and concession programmes, the outcomes have been mixed, with some projects stalled and others failing to yield anticipated results.
