Lagos/ibadan Road: Bi-courtney Hails Fashola, Wants Concession Returned

The management of Bi-courtney Nigeria Limited has asked the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to return its concession to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which was revoked by the previous administration.

A statement on Monday by the company said it felt vindicated by Fashola’s comment on a national television station on Monday that government’s failure to honour contracts impacted negatively on infrastructural development.

The company after commending Fashola for the sincerity, urged him to take the next right step by returning its rights.

The statement read, “Mr. Fashola was responding to questions on whether the government is still open to concessions and public private partnership as a way of bridging the gap between the infrastructure deficit in the country and government funding, which is inadequate and also if he will be revisiting the power privatisation programme. The minister also said the way successive governments jettisoned contracts had done a great disservice to Nigeria.

“Bi-courtney, which is a pioneer infrastructure company in Nigeria was awarded a build, operate and transfer contract to build the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, but the contract was cancelled by the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration.

“The company has insisted that the cancellation is illegal and that the Federal Government and the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, need to respect the law and allow Bi-courtney complete its contract.

“The spokesman for Bi-courtney, Mr Akeem Alaaya, says he hopes the minister will take the next logical step and hand back the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to Bi-courtney, whose concession was illegally revoked. The money the government is now expending on the road, he added, can be used on projects that can attract private sector funds.”

The legal advisor to Bi-courtney, Mr. Tola Oshobi, according to the statement, said the infrastructural development of Nigeria had been slowed down tremendously by government’s inability to understand that it was only through public private partnerships that the country would get the rapid development it deserved.