Nigeria’s PPP successes offer blueprint for Africa – ICRC DG Ewalefoh

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Dr. Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, has advocated stronger PPP collaboration among ECOWAS member states, arguing that Nigeria has developed models that can be replicated beyond its borders.

He pointed to the Customs Modernisation Project, popularly known as B’Odogwu, as an example of a Nigerian PPP innovation with continental potential.

According to him, the model was recently adopted by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat for a $3.1 billion, 20-year concession intended for deployment across about 50 AfCFTA member countries in support of a single continental market of approximately 1.3 billion people.

He described the development as a significant demonstration that Nigerian PPPs could generate innovations capable of being exported to other African economies.

Ewalefoh said Nigeria could also deepen regional cooperation through its port infrastructure, which could serve landlocked West African countries, as well as through major transport corridors such as the Abidjan–Lagos Corridor Highway.

The corridor, he noted, has the potential to connect major West African economic centres while facilitating access for landlocked countries including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

He said such projects could strengthen regional trade and economic integration under the broader framework of the African Union’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.

Ewalefoh called on regional governments and stakeholders to build on successful PPP models, saying stronger cooperation between government and the private sector could unlock capital, innovation and efficiency for infrastructure development across Nigeria and Africa.

“Public-Private Partnerships have shown what is possible when government creates the right environment and the private sector brings capital, innovation, and discipline to the table,” he said.