No Law Can Fix a Person’s Character, Says ICRC DG Ewalefoh

Jobson Oseodion Ewalefoh, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has dismissed calls for a revision of Nigeria's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) laws. During the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit, Ewalefoh argued that the focus should be on the proper implementation of existing legislation, rather than rewriting it.

At the summit, discussions about Nigeria's PPP framework shifted towards the necessity of reviewing the current laws. However, Ewalefoh challenged the advocates of law revision to first consider the extent to which the existing legislation has been utilized. He pointed out that within the existing law, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's leadership, 13 guidelines have been issued in just two years, a model concession agreement has been developed with the Federal Ministry of Justice, and presidential approval has been secured for project thresholds.

Ewalefoh emphasized that the success of any law is heavily dependent on the commitment and integrity of those responsible for its implementation. He firmly stated that shortcomings in the execution of existing laws should not be blamed on the laws themselves, nor used as an argument for introducing new ones. Ewalefoh asserted that legislation is only as effective as the people who enforce it, and that "no rewrite will fix a person's character."

He concluded that Nigeria would benefit more by fully utilizing the provisions of its existing PPP framework rather than investing in law revisions.