“This goes to show the importance of the private sector in infrastructure development,” Mr Ohiani said.  He added that the revised national infrastructure investment master plan for the next 23 years envisaged that the country would require $2.2 trillion to bridge the infrastructure deficit in the country. Mr Ohiani said the various options available through which the government can raise funds are borrowing, further repatriation of national funds, and seeking further foreign intervention.

Other options, he added, were to raise more bonds, Sukuk, tax credit schemes, and public-private partnerships (PPP), both through solicited and unsolicited proposals. In his keynote address, George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), commended state governors for embracing the benefits and opportunities of PPP as an alternative procurement method. Mr Akume, represented by Simon Tyungu, a director in his office, said the meeting was timely given the infrastructure deficit in the country and the government’s efforts to invest in renewal and modernisation. In his remarks, Governor Umaru Bago said his administration was focusing on farming, thereby taking advantage of the vast arable land in the state. Mr Bago, represented by Abubakar Salisu, Head of Service, added that the state would continue to partner with the federal government and international agencies with respect to agricultural development. (NAN)