Julius Berger Nigeria Plc has identified regulatory overlap and weak coordination among government agencies, host communities and the private sector as major factors delaying infrastructure projects and undermining the ease of doing business in the country.
The company’s Secretary, Cecilia Ekanem Madueke, spoke at the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) summit in Abuja during a plenary session on enhancing ease of doing business and addressing regulatory overlap.
She said delivering infrastructure requires managing a complex network of stakeholders across the federal, state and local government levels as well as host communities.
“We have the national, the sub national and the local levels. We are dealing with different stakeholders, and it is a complex ecosystem. It is a very delicate task to coordinate all these interests if we are to achieve the ultimate objective, which is the successful delivery of infrastructure,” she said.
Madueke noted that securing approvals for major projects extends beyond regulatory agencies, with decisions at different levels of government and within host communities influencing project timelines.
“Approvals go from the national level to the sub national, the local government and even the community. Every one of these levels has an impact on the success of a project,” she added.
She cited the execution of a road project in the South South where relocating a shrine became a major issue that required extensive engagement with the host community.
“We found ourselves dealing with the relocation of a shrine. That is not something the Federal Government alone can solve. It is not something the state or even the local government can resolve in isolation. It is fundamentally a community issue, and that requires engagement and consensus,” she said.
Madueke explained that infrastructure delivery depends not only on engineering expertise and funding but also on sustained engagement with host communities.
“If you do not have the right relationships on the ground and the capacity to engage communities effectively, you will struggle to move projects forward,” she explained.
She noted that many of the delays associated with infrastructure projects could be reduced through early identification of regulatory and community related risks before work begins.
“We need to identify the risks from the very beginning. We need to understand the issues, determine who should drive each process and ensure that everyone is aligned before projects commence. That is how we minimise delays and improve project outcomes,” she said.
Madueke added that improving Nigeria’s business environment requires collaboration among governments, the private sector and host communities.
“This is not just a Federal Government issue. It is an ecosystem issue. Government, the private sector and communities all have critical roles to play if we want sustainable infrastructure development and investment,” she added.