Infrastructure Development and Public Private Partnership in Nigeria: Lessons from current Practice

The dearth of infrastructure in Nigeria has hindered economic advancement as every sector of the economy is lagging behind in terms of infrastructure provision. There is a huge infrastructural gap in the country and this is widening on a daily basis. The infrastructural deficit has posed a challenge for businesses to thrive in the country. The government has been exploring options to provide more infrastructures for the public so as to bridge the gap caused by the shortfall in infrastructure. One of the strategies being adopted is the involvement of the private sector in the provision of infrastructure assets or services that have traditionally been provided by the government. This strategy called Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is fast gaining recognition across Nigeria and it has become increasingly popular to seek finance and expertise from the private sector to ease fiscal constraints and increase efficiency. Despite the huge capital investments required in the delivery of these infrastructures, a number of PPP projects have failed leading to huge losses in time and resources. This paper therefore relied on secondary data to examine the state of infrastructure in Nigeria and discussed Public Private Partnership as an instrument for engaging the private sector entity in bridging the infrastructural gaps. It also discussed some of the challenges associated with the adoption of PPP for infrastructure development and proffers some recommendations. The paper is a contribution to current policy debates on PPP and serves as a reference material for administrators and policy-makers at all levels of government.