The federal government’s privatisation programme is not designed to share the country’s national assets to a few rich people as erroneously believed, the Director General of theBureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex A. Okoh, has said.
Mr. Okoh said this at the Dinner/Award Night in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of reform, commercialisation and privatisation in Nigeria held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
He said: “We are not replacing public monopolies with private monopolies. Rather, in our determination to be unyielding and uncompromising in the pursuit of the best interest of this country, we are removing the financial burden which these enterprises constitute on the public purse and releasing resources for the essential functions of government. This essentially is the mandate given to BPE, to pursue this vision, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria”.
The Director General said that the process has freed up over $3 billion that was hitherto consumed by Public Enterprises (PEs) annually in terms of subventions, waivers, and unpaid taxes among others.
“The private sector has thus been positioned through these reforms to become the engine room of economic activities and infrastructural development, while government is being released to focus on governance and creating an enabling environment for business to thrive”, he added.
The Director General informed the gathering that at present, the programme consists of reform, commercialisation and privatisation in various sectors of the economy including aviation, development finance, postal sector, downstream oil and gas, and a host of other initiatives.
He said the NCP/BPE is pursuing the current transactions with renewed vigour, confidence and in a more responsible manner; and that the BPE has a new vision for the future that is based on rediscovery and repositioning.
“This has put the Bureau on a path of disciplined and responsible reform, an effective post-privatisation management regime, and a pivot to addressing the infrastructural deficit by tackling the defective Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) framework currently in place in Nigeria”, he said.
Okoh regretted that despite the development of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) policy in 2009, establishment of Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and creation of PPP units in nearly all the MDAs, the PPP governance framework as currently structured is somewhat convoluted and a disincentive to attracting reliable and big pocket private sector investors to the infrastructure market.
He said BPE has been repositioned to play a major role in coordinating and driving the process; adding that “We are well-equipped from our track record and robust processes to provide a one-stop-shop for prospective investors under a consistent, fair, equitable and transparent process”.
While thanking the Vice President and Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Professor Yemi Osinbajo for his guidance and support, he also commended members of the NCP, its standing committees and Ministers, for their cooperation and direction which have made the remarkable achievements recorded possible.
He also thanked the Bureau’s development partners, multilateral agencies, embassies, his predecessors and past directors of the BPE for their cooperation and for laying a solid foundation for the success of the programme.
