Oyinloye: N5.5trn Spent on Infrastructure in Four Years

By Peter Uzoho

The Managing Director/Chief Executive of The Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, has put the amount spent on infrastructure in the country between 2014 and 2017 at N5.5 trillon ($11.5 billion).

Oyinloye, made the disclosure in Lagos at the annual dinner of the Association of Professional Women Bankers (APWB), with the theme: “Funding Infrastructure Development in an Emerging Economy,” that took place at the weekend.

He said the figure which fell below an average of $25 billion projected annually by the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), was grossly inadequate, saying that would not lead to the development of the country.

According to him, the short term plan of NIIMP which covers a five-year period had postulated an investment of about $127 billion over the five-year period, to bridge the infrastructure deficit of the country.

Oyinloye said: “However, only about N5.5 trillion which is roughly about $11.5 billion between 2014 and 2017, has been spent on infrastructure. N1.1trillion in 2014, N0.6 trillion in 2015, N1.75 trillion in 2016, and N2.24 trillion in 2017; and that’s in budget, not in releases.

“And these are budgeted for capital projects in the last four years and they fall very grossly below projections. So the sheer size of funding required to meet the infrastructure deficit and the current economic climate of the country is indicative of the reality that indeed, on-budget government funding sources have become grossly inadequate to bridge the infrastructure deficit.

“It implies that the traditional method of delivering capital infrastructure projects favoured by the public sector has to make way for alternative, innovative infrastructure delivery methods that are agile, flexible, robust, integrated towards the fast-track economic stability-fired infrastructure construction and maintenance.”

He added: “The NIIMP rightly advocate the blend of funding sources; some of which are non-traditional, such as Public Private Partnership (PPP), and Private Finance Initiative (PFIs) as a viable alternative to addressing the funding shortfalls between the fiscal appropriation and infrastructure financing deficit.”

In his brief remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Uche Olowu, commended the women bankers for their efforts in mentoring and guiding women in the profession.

Olowu said: “I also want to appreciate you for your corporate social responsibilities.  I’m aware of quite a lot of things you do in universities, on capacity building and other areas.”

Speaking about the theme of the event, the CIBN president noted that infrastructure-led growth is sustainable.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairman of the association, Mrs Mercy Ojo, said the forum was created to gather valuable insights and ideas that would help shape the future of the Nigerian economy.

She said: “I consider this forum as taking on a transcendental role which will help shape the future of our economy and an opportunity to lots of crucial points that we guide our financial institutions towards developing products that can aid infrastructural development, facilitate brilliant ideas suitable for policy recommendations and contribute generally to the body of knowledge.