By Dele Abiodun

For decades, public-private partnerships in Nigeria have carried the weight of a familiar national frustration: grand announcements, elaborate ceremonies, signed agreements, and then, too often, little else.

That pattern may finally be changing. The concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, offers perhaps the clearest illustration yet of what can happen when political commitment, regulatory discipline and private-sector confidence converge. More importantly, it provides a useful test of whether Nigeria is beginning to build a PPP culture in which projects are not merely conceived and contracted, but actually delivered.

Enugu was once considered a difficult proposition for private investors. When the Federal Government initially advertised airports for concession, including Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu, investor appetite was concentrated elsewhere. Enugu was regarded as commercially unviable.

What changed was not the airport alone. The environment around it changed. According to ICRC Director-General Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, the transformation was driven by three levels of leadership: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to make public-private partnerships central to his administration’s economic strategy; Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo’s determination to push the airport concession programme; and Governor Peter Mbah’s efforts to build Enugu’s commercial and aviation potential.

The lesson is important. Infrastructure does not become investable simply because government declares it so. Investors need evidence that the surrounding economic ecosystem can support the asset.

In Enugu, that evidence began to emerge through new air connectivity, including Enugu Air’s domestic operations and the proposed direct link between Enugu and Guangzhou in China. The state government’s willingness to engage aggressively with investors and regulators also helped alter the perception of the airport.

The result was striking: when the airport was eventually offered for concession, a Nigerian investor stepped forward. The Full Business Case was approved by the Federal Executive Council in July 2025 and the concession agreement was signed in January 2026. The expectation is that the airport will undergo a major upgrade before the end of 2026, with direct Guangzhou flights potentially opening a new commercial corridor for the South-East.

That is more than an airport story. It is a demonstration of how public policy can turn an apparently unattractive public asset into a viable investment opportunity.

But the real test begins after the signing ceremony. Nigeria has never suffered from a shortage of infrastructure agreements. The problem has been implementation. This is where the ICRC says its approach is changing. Concession agreements now contain time-bound Conditions Precedent and clearly defined milestones. Financial close must be achieved within an agreed period, followed by deadlines for subsequent stages. Failure to meet these obligations can lead to termination unless an extension is mutually agreed and approved.

That approach matters because a PPP is not successful when a contract is signed. It is successful when the promised airport, power plant, hospital or logistics facility is actually delivered and performs as promised. The same philosophy is being applied to other infrastructure projects.

The Port Harcourt International Airport concession is approaching handover, while projects such as the Ikere Gorge Dam and other hydropower facilities are being revived under PPP arrangements. Ikere Gorge is particularly instructive: a facility originally designed for 6 megawatts, with equipment that became obsolete after years of abandonment, is now being repositioned for more than 100 megawatts of generation.

These projects demonstrate why Nigeria should resist the temptation to judge PPPs by the number of agreements signed. The more meaningful indicators are construction progress, financial close, jobs created, elecdtricity generated, revenue earned, service quality and, ultimately, the benefit delivered to citizens.
There is also an important social question. Private investment inevitably seeks a commercial return. But public infrastructure exists to serve a public purpose. The two interests can coexist only when regulation is strong enough to protect the public interest.
This is particularly important in healthcare. The ICRC’s involvement in MEDIPOOL illustrates the principle. The objective is not simply to create another commercially successful enterprise, but to use bulk procurement to reduce the cost of medicines and improve distribution, including to underserved communities. Over time, the project is also expected to encourage domestic manufacturing of medicines that Nigeria currently imports.
That is the kind of PPP Nigeria needs – one where profitability is not treated as the enemy of public welfare, but is harnessed to achieve it. There is, however, a note of caution. The claim that the era of stalled PPP projects is over will ultimately have to be demonstrated, not proclaimed. Nigeria’s history of abandoned infrastructure is too long for citizens to accept assurances without evidence. Conditions Precedent are useful, but they must be enforced consistently. Regulators must remain independent and transparent. Concessionaires must be held to the same standards whether they are domestic or foreign investors. And government agencies must also honour their own obligations, particularly on approvals, land, guarantees, regulation and other commitments that can determine whether a commercially sound project succeeds or fails.
Ultimately, Nigeria’s PPP moment will not be defined by how many assets are put up for concession, how many contracts are signed or how many investment figures are announced. It will be defined by whether Nigerians can see and feel the difference: a functioning airport, reliable electricity, better healthcare, efficient logistics and infrastructure that creates jobs and supports businesses.
That is the opportunity before the country now. The transition from abandoned projects to productive assets will require patience, discipline and sustained political commitment. It will also require government to recognise that its role does not end when a concession is signed, just as the private sector’s responsibility does not end at financial close.
If the lessons of Enugu can be replicated and if the discipline now being promised by the PPP framework is consistently applied, Nigeria can begin to replace a culture of abandoned projects with one of delivery and performance.
The real PPP moment, therefore, is not when government and investors sign the deal. It is when the bulldozers arrive, the facilities open, the services improve and citizens begin to ask a very different question: not “What happened to that project?” but “When is the next one coming?”
That is the standard Nigeria is now setting for every public-private partnership.

*Abiodun writes from Lagos