Cross River Reconstitutes State PPP Council, Demands Better Management Of Assets

The Governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu, has urged members of the State Public, Private, Partnership Council to ensure better management of the state’s assets, with the aim of achieving improved economic fortunes for the state and her residents.

Governor Otu, who reconstituted the state PPP council in his office on Monday, emphasized his administration’s commitment to turn around the fortunes of the state and create avenues for employment opportunities.

He said: “The PPP’s council so inaugurated is saddled with the responsibility to coordinate the adoption of the type of partnership that will show that the private sector receives returns on investment, without the state losing its rights of ownership of the assets.”

Cross River state governor also noted that the government’s resources were always very small, and could not provide for all the needs of the people, hence the private, public, partnership option, to bridge the gap as a catalyst in participatory governance.

He expressed confidence in the personalities that make up the state’s PPP council and assured them of his administration’s commitment to due process applications.

Governor Otu reminded them that the state is in dire need of some already-developed infrastructure that requires private expertise for maximum returns to the state.

He said: “Our agenda is well known. It is ‘People First,’ the focus of the government is to bring succour to the people, move from where we are now, add value to the immediate needs of the common man, and create prosperity.

“We have started building confidence across the globe, opening up vistas of opportunities for investors to tap into. We have assets, when properly managed, they will yield dividends for the state.”

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, earlier remarked that Cross River blazed the trail nationally around 2008 when it came up with a PPP policy while adding that the constitution of the state PPP council was in line with Cross River State Law Number 6 of 2010.

The SSG, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary (Exco), Orok Bassey Okon, said the state, after having the enabling Law in place, subsequently had a Bureau established and the master plan was put in place, but somewhere along the line, there was a slack over expected activities and the state missed it.

According to Enoh, the present administration in the state was set to put things back on track, with the composition of eminent persons into the PPP council, which is the government body for PPP matters in the state.

The team is headed by the state’s Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, while the Attorney-General and Commissioners of Finance, as well as Inter-governmental and Special Duties, State Economic Adviser, and the Vice Chairman, State Planning Commission, are to serve as members.

Other members are the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Elder Gershom Davies; Ikani Agabi SAN; Kenneth Asim Ita; and James Ibor Esq.; while the Senior Special Adviser/DG Bureau of Public, Private Partnership, Dr. Francis Ntamu, will serve as Secretary.

Speaking on behalf of the reconstituted PPP council, the Senior Special Adviser/DG Bureau of Public, Private Partnership, Dr. Francis Ntamu, assured the governor that the members would not fail the state over the confidence reposed on them.