Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Tuesday, inaugurated the Board of the Kwara State Public Private Partnership Bureau (KP3) to supervise all PPP arrangements in the state.
Speaking during the inauguration, Ahmed said that one of the first assignments of the Board is to oversee the effective implementation of the Kwara Infrastructure Development Fund (IFK) and its associated projects. He said the IFK is enshrined in the Kwara State Public Private Partnership Law of 2015, which he signed into law shortly after he was inaugurated for a second term.
The governor noted that in view of the financial situation of the country, it became necessary for the State government to innovate new ways of carrying on the business of governance such as leveraging on public private partnerships to ensure projects are funded to completion and efficiently without reliance on federal allocation, according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede. According to the governor, the IFK which is under the KP3 is a scheme that will ensure that Kwara will never be the same in terms of infrastructure development because it puts in place a funding model that ensures all high value projects initiated are funded to completion.
Ahmed, however, added that lower value infrastructural projects below N300million will be financed through other funding windows, stressing the government was not abdicating its responsibility but was rather partnering the private sector to fulfill people's expectation for development. He further noted that the IFK will end the era of abandoned projects and delay in payment of contractors in the State.
The governor stated that the IFK will outlive his administration because it is a structure that he expects future administrations in the State will embrace to ensure the implementation of critical infrastructure projects. He, therefore, charged members of the Board to work diligently and ensure that the state government's aims of establishing the KP3 and IFK are realized.
Alhaji Abdulwahab Yusuf is the Chairman of the Board, while Mrs. Mosunmola Bello will serve as Secretary. Other members are Yomi Ogunshola (KP3 Director General), Mrs. Esther Olarewaju (Ministry of Finance), Mr. Samuel Oladipo (Ministry of Planning and Economic Development), Alhaji Jimoh Mumuni (Ministry of Justice), Engr. Olusegun Bolarinwa (Ministry of Works and Transport) and Mr. Shuaib Akanbi Oke (Ministry of Housing and Urban Development).
