By Tochukwu Bliss, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu is said to have sanctioned the decentralisation of the approval process by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project for a more efficient and better streamlined delivery.
Director-General ICRC, Jobson Ewalefoh, was quoted as disclosing this in a statement by the Acting Head, Media and Publicity, ICRC, Ifeanyi Nwoko, on Sunday in Abuja.
Dr Ewalefoh explained that under the new dispensation, the process would involve approving PPP thresholds for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), which will help accelerate Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution.
He said: “It allows MDAs to approve projects below specified thresholds under the ICRC guideline, thereby supporting all scales of projects and encouraging broader private sector investment in PPPs.
“Under the new directive, PPP projects valued below N10 billion for parastatals/agencies and N20 billion for ministries will now be approved by respective Project Approval Boards (PABs).”
He continued: “Only projects exceeding these thresholds or those involving multiple ministries and requiring inter-agency coordination will require FEC approval.
“Importantly, all such projects must be entirely privately funded, with no government guarantees or financial commitments from the treasury.”
Before now, all PPP projects, regardless of size, were subject to Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval, resulting in extended processes and limiting the participation of MDAs with small and mid-scale projects.
Mr. Ewalefoh added that “By decentralising approvals, the government is supporting and unlocking investment opportunities through improved capital inflows, job creation, and faster project delivery, exactly what we need in this current economic climate.”
He however clarified that “Notwithstanding the new thresholds, every PPP project must be submitted to the ICRC for review and certification.
“The ICRC must issue certificates of compliance before any PPP project can be approved by the PAB and other approving bodies.”
By decentralising approvals, the government is supporting and unlocking investment opportunities through improved capital inflows, job creation, and faster project delivery, exactly what we need in this current economic climate.
Driving infrastructure revolution
The Director-General noted that at the just-concluded Nigeria PPP Summit, the President declared that his administration was strengthening the ICRC as the “engine room of Nigeria’s infrastructure revolution.
“The President noted that PPPs would be pivotal in driving transformative development across the country.
According to him, the boards would be constituted under ICRC guidelines and regulations.”
According to Mr. Ewalefoh, this framework shifted from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more dynamic and scale-sensitive model, enabling low-value but high-impact projects.
He said that the approval was a game-changer, especially for sectors like health, education, agriculture, and housing.
Therefore, “We expect to see private sector-led investments in projects like rural diagnostic medical centres, construction of classroom blocks and student hostels.
“This will also be seen in the delivery of affordable housing schemes across the country with less bureaucratic requirements under the new adopted process,” he said
He noted that the new framework aligned with Mr. Tinubu’s broader public procurement reforms, ensuring harmony across the government’s financial and investment systems, even as the Commission continues to promote, guide, facilitate and regulate the nation’s PPP ecosystem.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ewalefoh assured of ICRC’s resolve to collaborate with other agencies in the infrastructure ecosystem, including the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP); the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI); and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
He therefore urged MDAs as project owners and grantors to take advantage of the approval threshold and the new guidelines that will be issued by the Commission.
