- Government to take delivery of 500 vehicles through PPP
From John Adams, Minna
The Niger State government says it will revive the state owned Transport Authority through partnership with private investors who are ready to put their money in the sector in other to boost the transport system and ease the transportation problem hitherto faced by the people.
Talks have already reached an advance stage with a private company, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to bring in no fewer than 500 vehicles to be distributed to different commercial transport operators in the state.
The former commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism now Special Adviser to the state governor on Public Private Partnership (PPP), Mr. Jonathan Vatsa who disclosed this in Minna on Thursday during an interactive session with newsmen said Sanson and Rakiyat Project limited has agreed to partner with the state government in the area of transportation and will be bringing in 500 different brand of vehicles including Suzuki and Toyota to boost the transportation system in the state.
The targeted beneficiaries will be the National Union Road Transport Workers, (NURTW), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the Association of Commercial Motorcycle Operator in the state with the government providing the enabling environment.
Vatsa also disclosed that the state government has equally gone into partnership with some private organizations in the area of tractors and other farm implements with a view to transform the agriculture sector in the state so as to key into the federal government food security programme.
According to the former publicity secretary of APC in the state, the only way that the present administration in the state can realize it dreams of a new Niger state is to embrace the concept of Public Private Partnership which is the driver of geninue development all over the world today.
He pointed out that the government has line up a number of development projects to be under taken through Public Private Partnership initiative, stressing that it is obvious that the money from the monthly Federation Allocation cannot achieve the desire results.
He stated that all the bottle nets that were responsible for the failure of such arrangements in the state in the past are being taking care of, adding “if we must achieve the desire results then we must be ready to do things differently. It cannot be business as usual.
“High level of corruption, nepotism, selfishness and lack of sincerely contributed to the failure of similar PPP arrangements in the state in the past but this administration cannot condoned such practices.
“We have studied why such PPP arrangements have failed in the past and this government will not allow such to repeat itself. You cannot be doing one thing and expect a different result.”
He maintained that with the improved security situation across the state in recent time, the state is now safe for investors that are willing to invest in the state, saying that the recent onslaught against the bandits and other criminals elements in parts of the state by security agents, peace is gradually returning to the state.