UNTOUCHABLE CONCESSIONAIRES: FAAN’S BELATED TEARS

It is fair enough to exonerate the present management of FAAN, considering they were not there when the deal with Bi-Courtney, Pan Express and Mavies were signed, but they are culpable for looking the other way while the bills accumulated to billions of naira. It is also, not a surprise to see the belated tears at the senate, the surprise we can get now, is if the federal government through the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) can bite and prove to Nigerians and prospective investors there is a regulatory and legal frame work in place covering all government concession programme.


By setting up ICRC backed by an act and a board, the government has made it clear that it is taking a concessionary posture through the public private participation (PPP), therefore the regulatory and monitoring roles of the commission that should be enamored, seems weak with a clear disconnect with the government agencies involved in concession.

Looking back at the fraudulent N64 billion runway contract, you begin to wonder if the Due Process Unit(DPU) went to sleep when the files got to their office, for the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the body should just be scrapped considering the lame defense, given at the height of public outcry, another committee the Presidential Project Assessment Committee, has just sliced a whooping N13.5 billion from the contract that restricted bidders but passed through, the purported due process of DPU,BPP,FAAN and the Ministry. Luckily, the presidency has finally “shined their eyes”, to acknowledge that all government contract are about 30% higher when compared with other climes, let see the outcome of this numerous committees before 2011 election.

It is so painful so see that politicians appointed as ministers went ahead and signed agreements and addendums that have come to haunt us just like the Virgin Nigeria story.ICRC should live up to their responsibility, by re-knotting all knotty concessions in the industry and Nigeria in general. Monitoring and regulatory responsibilities require some toughness; the body should consider having experienced sectoral personnel to assist in handling the different concessions in the country, while at the same time introducing some fines or penalty for defaulters.

The Indian government has concession their airports and equally set up an independent body to regulate and monitor the concessionaires, the body introduced “liquidated damages”, which literally wipe defaulters in line. Public interest must be protected while revenue must seen going to the governments’ till, in a concession.