From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, as the new director general of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
President Bola Tinubu had recently appointed the Edo-born Certified Public Private Partnership tactician alongside some other heads of parastatals.
Several notable Nigerians have been reacting to the appointment, many of whom have described it as one that is well deserved.
In his assessment during the screening exercise, Sadiq Umar, chairman, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, urged the new ICRC boss to ensure to put Nigeria and the Nigerian people first in his activities to further boost investment opportunities in the country.
“I think it is exciting, we need the best man, the best skill to really negotiate,” he said.
Adams Oshiomhole, chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, also hailed Ewalefoh’s appointment. The former governor of Edo State, who saluted Ewalefoh’s wealth of experience in public private partnership (PPP) matters, promised to avail the new ICRC director general with the appropriate legal framework needed to attract necessary funds into the country.
“You have everything it takes to bring a new life to the whole question of regulations, appropriate negotiations that will make it possible. This is why people like you, who have grown from the system, are needed, given the nature of service. I am fully impressed by this background,” Oshiomhole said.
The president, while making the appointment, charged Ewalefoh to bring his wealth of experience to the job and demonstrate absolute dedication and probity in the management of the ICRC and in pursuit of its strategic objective of accelerating investment in national infrastructure through the innovative mobilisation of private-sector funding.
“The first thing we want to do is to instil confidence in the investors. Businessmen are not moved by what we say of mutual risk, they are moved by safety and the return on investment on whatever funds they are bringing. That is one of the things I am going to do.”
“Nigeria is a country of over 200 million people. There is no way the investors will not want to come. I see people who want to come,” he said.
Prior to his appointment, the new ICRC DG was the director in charge of the public private partnership resource department, ICRC.
A thoroughbred professional, Ewalefoh has over two decades of experience in PPP, concessions and privatisation, information and communication technology development and deployment, innovation, project management, procurement processes and procedures, organisation and strategy, process improvement, public policy reform and development, leadership and governance.