The Federal Government has intensified efforts to reduce contractual disputes in infrastructure projects across the country with the introduction of a Model Public-Private Partnership Agreement aimed at strengthening legal safeguards, improving investor confidence and protecting public interest.

The initiative comes amid Nigeria’s estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit and renewed government engagement with key stakeholders on contractual obligations between public-owned entities and private sector partners.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja on Tuesday, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, said the complexities of long-term PPP infrastructure contracts often expose the country to significant risks, liabilities and costly disputes.

She said the Model PPP Agreement was designed to shield Nigeria from predatory litigation arising from poorly structured contracts, lopsided risk allocation and weak dispute resolution clauses.

According to her, the framework reflects a collective commitment to efficient governance, sustainable development and economic prosperity.

“This has been a journey of collaboration, diligence, and shared purpose. We’ve had a series of engagements, retreats, and meetings where legal experts from across the country gathered to review and refine the model agreement. These engagements have laid the foundation for clearer, stronger, and more effective PPP agreements,” Jedy-Agba said.

She noted that the agreement would promote transparency, accountability, value for money and investor confidence, while ensuring that public interest remains adequately protected in major infrastructure transactions.

Jedy-Agba stressed that the Ministry of Justice has a central role in safeguarding government interests in long-term commercial agreements.

“The complexities of long-term PPP infrastructure contracts naturally introduce significant risks and liabilities. This is where the Ministry of Justice plays a critical, non-negotiable role in mitigating risks, scrutinising indemnity clauses, and structuring robust dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that the federal government is fully protected from predatory litigation, sovereign defaults, and lopsided risk allocation,” she stated.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Jobson Ewalefoh, said Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit is currently estimated at $2.3 trillion, warning that the country must mobilise about $100 billion annually to close the gap by 2043.

“I wish to begin this morning not with a speech, but with a figure: $2.3 trillion. That is the conservative estimate of Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit today,” he said.

Ewalefoh said government revenue alone could not meet Nigeria’s infrastructure needs, making private sector participation critical to the success of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He observed that for nearly two decades, Nigeria negotiated PPP projects on a case-by-case basis, a practice he said resulted in inconsistencies in risk allocation, dispute resolution mechanisms and investor protections.

According to him, the new framework provides nationally accepted guidelines that will shorten negotiation timelines, reduce transaction costs and enhance the bankability of infrastructure projects.

The ICRC boss explained that the agreement contains provisions on risk allocation, lender protections, dispute resolution, insurance requirements, performance monitoring and anti-corruption safeguards.

He added that the framework introduces a structured dispute resolution mechanism that begins with consultation and negotiation before proceeding to arbitration under the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023.

“The result is a system that exhausts reasonable avenues for resolution before litigation costs arise,” Ewalefoh said.

He further stated that the agreement was designed to provide predictability for government, protection for investors and improved service delivery for Nigerians.

Ewalefoh said Ministries, Departments and Agencies would no longer be required to negotiate PPP agreements from scratch, as the framework now establishes a legally grounded baseline for infrastructure transactions.

“I am confident that, working together, the ICRC, our MDAs, development partners, and investors can help close the trillion-dollar infrastructure gap and, concession by concession, build the Nigeria that Renewed Hope has promised,” he said.

Stakeholders from various federal ministries, departments and agencies attended the engagement.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of renewed government efforts to strengthen legal safeguards in major commercial agreements following Nigeria’s successful defence against the $11.5 billion arbitration claim filed by Process & Industrial Developments in the United Kingdom.

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