PPP will bring rapid development in Ogun – Speaker

The Speaker of Ogun House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, on Wednesday, said that the state government’s initiative on public-private partnership would facilitate rapid infrastructural development in the state.
Oluomo stated this at a stakeholders’ forum on a bill on Public Private Partnerships, Establishment of the Office of Public Private Partnerships and Promotion of the Development of Infrastructure and Service Delivery in Ogun.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the forum was held at the Assembly complex in Abeokuta.
The speaker noted that the idea of PPP was in tandem with the developmental drive of the present administration, which sought to harness resources for the development of the state.
He added that the forum was geared toward the development of the state and improvement of the lives of the citizens.
Oluomo explained that the bill, when passed into law, would ensure that private business organisations and corporate bodies operating in the state discharged their responsibilities as partners in the development of the state.
He said: “The present administration decided to enact the law so as to harness financial and other resources to facilitate the smooth process of infrastructural development of our state.
“It is the belief of this Assembly that the passage of this bill into law will go a long way in boosting the businesses of various corporate organisations and improve the economy of our dear state.”
On his part, the Public Relations Officer of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Ogun branch, Olumide Obube, said that the bill was apt.
Obube urged government to involve private partners, through the PPP arrangement, in the aspect of medical equipment in pharmacies such as HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) that could be used to analyse pharmaceutical molecules.
Motunrayo Elegberun, representative of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ogun chapter, commended the Assembly for the bill and solicited for the inclusion of a member from the private sector on the PPP board.
While calling for transparency in the running of the board, she suggested a plain structure that would ensure that no one was cheated.
Deji Ogundimu, representing Ogun Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, decried infrastructural decay in the state, expressing the hope, however, that the PPP initiative would turn the state to an investment haven.
Ogundimu urged government to block all the loopholes that might jeopardise the bill, urging the lawmakers also to ensure that change of government would not affect the purpose of the PPP initiative.
NAN reports that stakeholders present at the forum included representatives of Justice, Development and Peace Commission, Nigerian Medical Association, Nigerian Bar Association and members of road transport unions.