Group Wants States To Deploy PPP For Critical Infrastructure

A civic advocacy group and accountability organisation, BudgIT, says the 36 states and the FCT need a rapid build-up of capacity in deploying customised and innovative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models to deliver on critical infrastructure projects and programmes.
BudgIT’s Research and Policy Advisory lead, Mr Abel Akeni, said this yesterday, in Abuja, at the official presentation of the state of States reports 2021 edition, under the theme: “Fiscal options for building back better”.
“This is especially in key sectors like Health, Education, Housing, and Agriculture given the shrinking fiscal space in which states are operating and will continue to operate in the next few years,” he explained.
While presenting the 2021 report, Akeni said that the organisation examined the fiscal health of states, using four metrics namely; “the ability of states to meet their operating expenses with IGR and VAT, states’ ability to cover their operating expenses and loan repayment with their total revenue.
“How much fiscal room states have to borrow more, and the degree to which each state prioritises capital expenditure with respect to their operating expenses,” he explained
According to him, Rivers state, once again, topped the overall 2021 Fiscal Performance Ranking, indicating that the fiscal fundamentals of this state, compared to others in the country, were more prudently managed.
In the overall ranking, two states, Ebonyi and Kebbi made it as new entrants to the top 5 category.
“This was driven largely by growth in both states’ IGR as recorded by the NBS. Ebonyi state grew its IGR by 82.3 percent from N7.5bn in 2019 to N13.6 billion in 2020, while Kebbi state grew its revenue by 87.02 percent from N7.4 billion in 2019 to N13.8billion in 2020.
Meanwhile, Ogun state (now 19th) and Kano state (now 22nd), dropped out of the top 5 category due to a sharp decline in their IGRs in 2020.