NLC rejects sale of National Assets

The Nigeria labour congress (NLC) has taken an exception to the calls for the sales of Nigeria’s national assets in the oil and gas, and aviation sectors to redeem the economy from current recession arguing that the sales of the assets will rather weaken the revenue capacity of government in the future and the economic base of the nation as a whole.

The NLC, in a statement signed by its national president Comrade Ayuba Waba described the proposals by some prominent Nigerians as worrisome, and as a scheme to take the advantage of the national economic malady to advance their personal interests.

Waba who expressed concern over the fortunes of the power sector assets, called on the government to explore other avenues through which these assets could be used to generate revenue for the nation’s ailing economy rather than selling them off to private profiteers.

‘’Inter-generational considerations require that we build on these existing investments by identifying other profitable endeavours to invest in.  What we need is to leverage on the stream of potential earnings from these investments in seeking to turn around the economy,’’ he said.

While calling on Nigerians to resist the proposal, he stressed that the assets represent potential sources of revenue in the future and therefore should be preserved for common benefits.

‘’We, therefore, call on Nigerians to resist these new scheming by those waiting and wishing to lap up these lucrative national assets.  We need to preserve these assets for our children and future generations.

He maintained that ‘’there are lessons to be learnt from some other OPEC countries which invested their oil revenues heavily in the acquisition of sovereign assets, both domestically and internationally.  Such countries today are deriving a steady stream of earnings from those assets and are, therefore, less vulnerable to the fiscal crisis occasioned by failing oil revenues’’.