The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved three major public-private partnership (PPP) projects aimed at closing Nigeria’s infrastructure gaps and stimulating economic growth, as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned that poor fiscal management by states is worsening inflation nationwide.
The approved projects include a Smart National Transport Data Bank to be managed by the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology and two independent power projects at the Onne and Apapa ports.
The Federal Government said the projects reflect President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to accelerating infrastructure development through private sector participation.
Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Jobson Ewalefoh, said the transport data bank would provide real-time intelligence across road, rail, air and marine transport systems.
According to him, the digital platform will support traffic enforcement, infrastructure planning, revenue generation and operational efficiency through technologies such as automated number plate recognition and vehicle tagging.
Ewalefoh also described the approved power projects at the Onne and Apapa ports as critical interventions to tackle unreliable electricity supply, which continues to hinder industrial productivity.
He added that the ICRC has begun talks with the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy to develop tourism infrastructure across the country through PPP arrangements.
Meanwhile, CBN Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, Muhammad Abdullahi, warned that reckless spending, rising debts, poor wage management and weak coordination of FAAC revenues by states are fueling inflationary pressures.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdullahi stressed that the success of the CBN’s planned inflation-targeting policy would depend heavily on fiscal discipline and stronger cooperation between federal and state governments.