The Minister/ Deputy Chairman National Planning Commission, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman has called on The Infrastructure Bank (TIB) to support the in- coming government to ensure that the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) does not fail, arguing that government is a continued process.
The minister made this call during a courtesy visit on him by a delegation of The Infrastructure Bank led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adekunle Oyinloye
‘’ I urge you to work with the in – coming government on infrastructure. Do not see the transit of government as a negative sign for not supporting the incoming government on the master plan. Government is a continuous process and so we need to support the in- coming to ensure the success of the master plan’’.
Dr. Abubakar stated that in a bid to ensure better coordination with states and local governments in the area of infrastructure, the Commission had created the Infrastructure Development Coordination Unit (IDCU) in NPC which will also work with the TIB and other stakeholders in that regard.
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He also said that, TIB, being the institutional advisor to the NPC on NIIMP implementation will also drive the process of infrastructure project financing under the NIIMP.
Accordingly, Sulaiman tasked the TIB and the IDCU to review the implementation take off milestones that have been achieved so far after the FEC approval of the NIIMP, such as printing and distribution of the NIIMP master plan as a policy document, emphasising also on
The Financial Times Magazine special publication on the master plan to attract foreign investors and also to preview the mechanism and climate for effective coordination and tracking of the implementation.
The Minister also pointed out that, the world is witnessing more of private sector investment in infrastructure, insisting that TIB will generate integrity for the priority projects, which promises ‘win- win’ for all the investors and the nation.
In his response, the Managing Director/ CEO of the TIB, Adekunle Oyinloye assured the minister that the infrastructure is very central to all and so will not affect its business and also stating that the bank is created to ensure rapid infrastructure development in Nigeria.
He commended the minister and his team for crafting a master plan Nigerians are proud of, stating that the country before now, had never had a very articulated plan for infrastructure.
Salisu B. Haiba
Head of Information
