Reps,Minister,NLC Tie Privatization Failure To Deficient Infrastructure

The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, and members of the House Committee on Privatization and Commercialization, as well as the President Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Mr Ayuba Wabba and other key stakeholders have blamed the failure of privatization and commercialization of public enterprises by government on infrastructural deficiency in Nigeria.

They hinted this during separate presentations at the hearing organized by the Hon. Ibrahim Makama Misau-led Committee on Privatization and Commercialization.

The hearing was on a proposed legislation titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Public Enterprises Privatization and Commercialization 1999 Act, Cap P38 LFN 2004 and Enact the Public Assets Reform Bill 2021 For Improved Efficiency and Management of Public Assets in Nigeria and For Related Matters’

Gbajabiamila,who declared the hearing open,said the  change Nigeria needs  in public enterprises calls for a legal framework that would maximize the value of existing assets.

Represented by the House Leader Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the speaker said that stakeholders at the public hearing are capable of bringing out positive outcome in the public sector with respect to public assets.

In  his remark, Chairman of the House Committee Hon. Ibrahim Misau said with a repeal of the Privatization and Commercialization Act 1999 that public deficit amounting to $1.3 million will be bridged with the enactment of a new law — the Public Assets Reform Bill.

He noted that other countries are using public private partnership to deliver infrastructural projects to their citizens, saying that ministries, departments and agencies of government will have the opportunity to bridge the infrastructure gap in the country with speed.

The Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), lamented that most  government owned enterprises sold to private entities through the privatization policy have either failed to love up to expectations, or disappeared entirely.

In a presentation at the hearing, Fashola said that once there is a private sector driven economy, there is need for strong regulation of private enterprises and activities.

According to him,  key sectors of the economy such as banking, telecommunications and consumer goods production are in dire need of a strong legal and regulatory framework in Nigeria

He added:”I am not against privatization but the role of government in privatization is just policy.I looked at the list of privatized entities and found out that most of them had disappeared. Where are the scanners after sixteen years of privatization,” he said.

Speaking,President of Nigeria Labour Congress,Comrade Ayuba Wabba, disclosed that privatization is against the provision of section 16 of the 1999 constitution as amended, and states that the state must protect the economic interest of the citizenry.

The Director-General  of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr Alex Okoh,said it is not all public assets that need to be privatized,adding adding that assets slated for privatization need to be guided by by legislation.

According to him,a total of 234 public enterprises had been revitalized through privatization and concessioning of these assets.