The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayodeji Gbeleyi, has disclosed that 91 federal assets would be privatised as part of ongoing efforts to optimise public enterprises, attract investment, and boost efficiency across key sectors of the economy.
The DG disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday. He stressed that the process will be handled carefully and sector by sector to protect national interests.
“There are 91 public enterprises that are still outstanding within the purview of the Public Enterprises Act. You may want to know the estimated values and why we want to sell,” Gbeleyi said.
He stated that out of the 91 firms the government has earmarked for privatisation or commercialisation, 16 are in the oil and gas sector, including refineries and depots, though he did not name them. He added that 12 operate in agriculture, 20 in aviation, and 28 are in other public enterprises.
He further noted that the remaining firms include those in mines and steel, transport, eco-tourism, as well as two agencies under the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
According to the DG, equity in 35 of the firms will be fully privatised, while equity in 57 will undergo partial privatisation. He, however, did not specify the names of the firms in either category.
He explained that the law guiding public enterprise reform does not impose a deadline for completing privatisation. “The Public Enterprise Act is a living document; it does not have a sunset day, which is to draw a line and say by this day, you must have finished privatising or commercialising all public enterprises,” Gbeleyi stated.
“PPP transactions of privatisation and concessioning are a very painstaking exercise. If you must do it right and get it right. It should be the subject of a very rigorous exercise. One transaction at a time, you take them sectorally. We can’t sit here at the meeting and tell you that (how much would be generated from the exercise). That’s why we bring in advisors to assist us.
“Whether it’s a financial advisor, whether it’s a legal advisor to review the legal and regulatory framework, or whether it’s a technical consultant to review the operational realities of the infrastructure and the business case. So, it is the business case that will determine the structure and the nature of the transaction. Some transactions may lend themselves to a different structure, while another one will lend itself to another structure.”
He pointed to the telecommunications sector as proof that reforms can unlock economic potential. “If we do not reform and neutralise that space, if we allow NITEL to continue as an incumbent monopoly, today, all of the potentials that we have unlocked in the telecom space, in the e-commerce space, would not have come to reality. So, it depends on how you are looking at it.
“Even as challenging as the Discos are today, it could have been a worse case of a significant blackout in the country. But we are all working together as stakeholders to enable us to position this country and take it in the right direction.”
Speaking on the impact of the ongoing reforms, the BPE boss declared that they are creating jobs and developing the skills of Nigerians. “So, if you look at the power sector, the skills transfer, the jobs created, directly and indirectly. The government is embarking on a project that will deliver 3.2 million metres. Nigerians are going to be the ones to install the metres.
“There is another one for 2.5m, Nigerians are going to work there. Our youth did not have the skills to sell globally. Today, Nigerians are all over the world in the telecom space because we are now on a global platform.”
He also added that the government is set to list two electricity Distribution Companies and one generation company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He, however, declined to reveal the names of the companies, citing corporate confidentiality. He added that the BPE has strengthened its legal and compliance framework.
“We have a legal department under the general counsel, contract management, counsel support, dispute resolution, etc. In order to strengthen our capacity in contract management and compliance issues, we created a new unit.
“So, those guys help us to double-check anything we have done to ensure full compliance with the legislation as a whole. Under my watch, I can assure you that we will remain law-abiding. Some of the things that we have done, in terms of compliance, in terms of ensuring things are done properly, in line with best practices, is to ensure that such things do not happen to us again.”
