FG privatises 234 companies – BPE

The federal government has said no fewer than 234 public enterprises have been reformed by way of privatisation, commercialisation and in some cases, concession.

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, disclosed this in a statement by the agency in Abuja on Tuesday.

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“From inception to date, a total of 234 public enterprises have been successfully reformed by way of privatisation, commercialisation and in some cases, concession,” Okoh stated.

The BPE DG pointed out that the globally acclaimed telecom revolution in Nigeria, which has created a teledensity of about 96 per cent in 20 years, with a current contribution of 14% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was a product of the reform of the sector spearheaded by the BPE.

According to him, “We are in a precarious situation. The country has only recently emerged from recession following the destructive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the resultant constraints in the fiscal space are still very much evident.

“Our debt stock is rising while our revenue is declining. This trend becomes more worrisome when considered against certain key economic indices.”

The director-general said the debt service to revenue ratio was 98 per cent, far above the World Bank’s threshold of 22.5 per cent.

Okoh noted that “Notwithstanding this gloomy reality, there is still the possibility of emerging from this dark tunnel and into the light of economic prosperity by seeking to put in place a credible and robust mechanism to reset and reform the economy.”