At the recent 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES32), Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), addressed the ongoing discussions around Nigeria’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) laws. He cautioned against proposals for a revision of these laws, stating that the focus should instead be on the effective implementation of the existing legal framework.
Ewalefoh urged those advocating for legislative changes to first assess how thoroughly the current laws have been utilized. He noted that under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ICRC has made significant strides, including issuing 13 guidelines over the past two years and developing a model concession agreement in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The ICRC chief pointed out that the effectiveness of any law is contingent on the integrity and commitment of those responsible for its execution. He explained that shortcomings in implementation should not be attributed to the laws themselves, and asserted that simply rewriting legislation would not resolve deeper issues of accountability and integrity.
Ewalefoh highlighted that personal character cannot be legislated, emphasizing, “No law can fix a person’s character.” He concluded that Nigeria stands to benefit more by fully leveraging its existing PPP framework rather than redirecting efforts toward creating new laws.
