BPE kicks against PPPRC Act

Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, has kicked against the Public-Private Partnership Regulatory Commission, (PPPRC) Act being worked upon by the Senate Committee on Works.

The Act is aimed at repealing the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act 2005 and enacting the Public-Private Partnership Regulatory Commission Act 2022.

The BPE, according to the memoranda presented at a public hearing on Thursday, believes that such a move would amount to duplication of functions between the Bureau and the proposed agency.

Director-General of the BPE, Mr Alex Okoh, in his submission, said the role of an operator should be delineated from that of a regulator, stressing that, extant laws, mandate BPE to superintend public-private partnership, PPP transactions.

However, critical stakeholders like the Acting Director-General of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, Michael Ohiani; Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami; the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN represented by Chukuma Katchchy, among others, supported the bill.

Specifically, the Acting Director-General of ICRC, in his submission said the proposed bill will put to rest, the inter-agency rivalry between ICRC and BPE as far as regulation of PPP is concerned.

He disclosed that the commission, under the regulatory guidance of the federal government, had between 2010 and 2020, approved over $19 billion PPP project.

Thereafter, the Senators took their turn to assure all participating stakeholders that the proposed bill will not in any way infract extant laws. (VON)