FG nets N1trn from sale of 234 companies – BPE

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has said over N1 trillion had been generated from 234 concluded transactions of previously government-owned enterprises from various sectors of the economy.

The BPE Director-General, Alex Okoh, said this on Monday in Abuja at a media conference on the activities of the organisation.

• APC crisis: Buni meets Kwara senators, pledges reconciliation
• Sallah: Rams everywhere, no money to buy

He said the Bureau is also expected to further generate N493.40bn net revenue from various transactions as approved by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

According to him, over 30 projects had been categorised under five segments with 22 of them carried over from 2020.

He, however, said that the plan to privatise the nation’s refineries had been dropped as the Federal Government was considering other approaches to revitalise and improve on them.

“We are very close to resolving the issues surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel Company, especially the litigation and that once that was done a decision would be taken on how to proceed with it,” Okoh said.

He added that the rationale for privatisation was to generate revenue for government, reduce operational inefficiencies, revitalise and optimise public sector entities and increase investment level as a catalyst for growth.

He said, “The country’s fiscal space is getting increasingly constrained, as a result government cannot provide the resources required to meet all of its obligations and bridge the huge infrastructure gap.

“The most feasible option is to attract private sector investments. BPE’s current initiative in its 2021 work plan and additional roles in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) space is, therefore, poised to impact on the economy positively.

“This is in the areas of infrastructure development, improved health care service delivery, power generation and supply, employment creation, food security and human capital development.”

No plan to privatise TCN

Also speaking, the Director, Energy Department, BPE, Mr Yunana Malo, said that there is no plan to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

According to him, rather than privatisation, the Bureau would concession it to get maximum value for the country and investors.

He said that transmission was the weak link in the power reform, as generation which was privatised had since attracted a lot of investments, making it more efficient.

He also said that the generation capacity had improved, and that 60 percent of the distribution segment had also been partially privatised and was beginning to pick up through the reforms of the Federal Government.

He also said that the Federal Government’s 40 percent stake in the Distribution Companies (DISCOS) were still intact and protected by BPE.

He said, “The seemingly weak link is the transmission component, it is still 100 per cent owned by the FG. The idea is to think outside the box and bring in solutions that will make the transmission component service the value chain, and make it more efficient.

“Government is not thinking of privatising, it is thinking of ways and means that the private capital can be brought into the transmission component without giving out the ownership of Transmission Company.”

“The BPE would concession the transmission segment, so that we can have somebody building the high-tension lines, covering areas that have not been reached or to maintain the existing ones to get maximum value, to move from the radial system we have today into a mesh. So, the idea is not to privatise but to reform and make it efficient, bringing in private sector operational modalities within the transmission company.”