The Kogi State Bureau of Public Private Partnership has received 600 business proposals, in the last two years, from investors interested in various sectors of the economy, Mr Bob Achanya, its Director-General, said in Lokoja.
Achanya disclosed this at the weekly ministerial press briefing organized by Kogi State Bureau of Information Services and Grassroots Sensitization (BISGS), in collaboration with the state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
According to him, several Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) have been signed between the State Government and the investing partners.
“Following the many proposals and subsequent deliberations and negotiations, many concession agreements have been reached and signed,” he said.
The Director-General said that 42 of the concession projects were on-going on six-month probation, saying that the quality and speed of the work would determine whether the deal would continue or be terminated.
He dismissed speculations that government was planning to sell landed properties and projects started by previous administrations.
“No property or project is being sold; on the contrary, government is out to resuscitate moribund ventures through the concession agreements,” he said.
Achanya explained that Government was not talking about the sale of viable properties.
“We are talking of concession of projects to investors. People are finding it difficult to accept the concept of concession of projects.
“We are not selling. We don’t even have a lease. All the talks are political semantics to disparage government policies.
“We are using every option available to resuscitate every moribund project. The concept is not about privatization or commercialization.
“It is about involving the private sector to resuscitate ailing projects and government investments,” he said.
Mr Abdulkarim Abdulmalik, Director-General, BISGS, in his remarks, said that the foremost interest of government was to concession, not sale.
He, however, noted that not all projects were for concession, saying that non-viable ventures incapable of generating income would be sold out and the proceeds used to fund others that would generate employment.
Alhaji Adeiza Momoh-Jimoh, the state chairman of the NUJ, in his remarks, commended the state government for creating an avenue for public officers to render accounts of their stewardship and explain policies and actions to the public.
(NAN)
