FG Generates N1tn From Sale Of Public Assets

* BPE: No Plan To Privatise TCN
* Says Agency Not Involved In Proposed Acquisition In Dangote
Refinery

The federal government has so far generated N1 trillion from the
sale, commercialisation, and the concession of 234 public assets in
the past 32 years, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises
(BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh has said.

The BPE also cleared the air on the speculated moves to
privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), saying that
the federal government is not contemplating an outright sale, but
considering how to attract private capital to the transmission
component without ceding the ownership of the company.

A breakdown of the 234 assets involved from the time of the
defunct Technical Committee on Privatisation (TCPC) in 1989 to the
creation of the BPE in 1999 showed that the agriculture sector
accounted for 32, banking and finance (31), cement (15), energy
construction and services (14), hotels and tourism (13) industry
and manufacturing (9), oil and gas (13).

Others are ports (31), power (24), mines, and steel (38),
automobile (8), paper and packaging (4), sugar (4) and telecom.

Okoh told journalists yesterday in Abuja that the BPE is
expected to generate N493.40 billion revenue from various
transactions as approved by the National Council on Privatisation
(NCP).

Over 30 assets are targeted for privatisation in 2021, including
nine categorised as energy, eight in industries and communication,
six in development institutions and natural resources. Okoh added
that 22 of the assets to be privatised were carried over from
2020.

Responding to questions, Okoh denied the involvement of the BPE
in the proposed moves by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote
Refinery, which is currently under construction.

But he added that its initial plan to privatise the nation’s
four refineries had been dropped when the federal government opted
for a revitalisation approach to improve them.
He stated that the refineries with a refining capacity of about
480,000 barrels were at various stages of non-performance.

He said: “Our plan initially was to privatise the refineries,
especially with private investors going into refining,” adding that
with the NNPC believing that they could be rehabilitated, the
privatisation agency had to drop them from its 2021 work plan.

Okoh stated that the issues surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel
Company were quite complex but expressed optimism that they would
be resolved, especially the litigation aspect.

According to him, once that is settled, a decision will be taken
on how to forge ahead with the company.

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

Okoh stated that the nation’s fiscal space is getting
increasingly constrained, adding that as a result, government
cannot provide the resources required to meet all of its
obligations and bridge the huge infrastructure gap.

He stated that the most feasible option was to attract private
sector investments, adding that BPE’s current initiative in its
2021 work plan and additional roles in the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) space is poised to impact the economy
positively.

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

On the speculations that the federal government is planning to
privatise the TCN, BPE’s Director, Energy Department, Mr. Yunana
Malo, said there was no such plan to privatise the company, adding
that what is being considered is reform with a view to give it out
to a concessionaire for optimum value.

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

According to him, generation capacity has improved, while 60 per
cent of the distribution segment has also been partially privatised
and is beginning to pick up through the federal government’s
reforms.

Malo said: “The seemingly weak link in the transmission
component; it is still 100 per cent owned by the federal
government.

“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, he said, would give out the transmission segment in
concession, “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.”

He added that the idea is not to privatise but to reform and
make it efficient by bringing in private sector operational
modalities within the transmission company.

On the federal government’s 40 per cent stake in the
Distribution Companies (DISCOS), Malo said the shares were still
intact and protected by BPE.

* BPE: No Plan To Privatise TCN
* Says Agency Not Involved In Proposed Acquisition In Dangote
Refinery

The federal government has so far generated N1 trillion from the
sale, commercialisation, and the concession of 234 public assets in
the past 32 years, Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises
(BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh has said.

The BPE also cleared the air on the speculated moves to
privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), saying that
the federal government is not contemplating an outright sale, but
considering how to attract private capital to the transmission
component without ceding the ownership of the company.

A breakdown of the 234 assets involved from the time of the
defunct Technical Committee on Privatisation (TCPC) in 1989 to the
creation of the BPE in 1999 showed that the agriculture sector
accounted for 32, banking and finance (31), cement (15), energy
construction and services (14), hotels and tourism (13) industry
and manufacturing (9), oil and gas (13).

Others are ports (31), power (24), mines, and steel (38),
automobile (8), paper and packaging (4), sugar (4) and telecom.

Okoh told journalists yesterday in Abuja that the BPE is
expected to generate N493.40 billion revenue from various
transactions as approved by the National Council on Privatisation
(NCP).

Over 30 assets are targeted for privatisation in 2021, including
nine categorised as energy, eight in industries and communication,
six in development institutions and natural resources. Okoh added
that 22 of the assets to be privatised were carried over from
2020.

Responding to questions, Okoh denied the involvement of the BPE
in the proposed moves by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) to acquire a 20 per cent stake in the Dangote
Refinery, which is currently under construction.

But he added that its initial plan to privatise the nation’s
four refineries had been dropped when the federal government opted
for a revitalisation approach to improve them.
He stated that the refineries with a refining capacity of about
480,000 barrels were at various stages of non-performance.

He said: “Our plan initially was to privatise the refineries,
especially with private investors going into refining,” adding that
with the NNPC believing that they could be rehabilitated, the
privatisation agency had to drop them from its 2021 work plan.

Okoh stated that the issues surrounding the Ajaokuta Steel
Company were quite complex but expressed optimism that they would
be resolved, especially the litigation aspect.

According to him, once that is settled, a decision will be taken
on how to forge ahead with the company.

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

Okoh stated that the nation’s fiscal space is getting
increasingly constrained, adding that as a result, government
cannot provide the resources required to meet all of its
obligations and bridge the huge infrastructure gap.

He stated that the most feasible option was to attract private
sector investments, adding that BPE’s current initiative in its
2021 work plan and additional roles in the Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) space is poised to impact the economy
positively.

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

On the speculations that the federal government is planning to
privatise the TCN, BPE’s Director, Energy Department, Mr. Yunana
Malo, said there was no such plan to privatise the company, adding
that what is being considered is reform with a view to give it out
to a concessionaire for optimum value.

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

According to him, generation capacity has improved, while 60 per
cent of the distribution segment has also been partially privatised
and is beginning to pick up through the federal government’s
reforms.

Malo said: “The seemingly weak link in the transmission
component; it is still 100 per cent owned by the federal
government.

“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, he said, would give out the transmission segment in
concession, “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.”

He added that the idea is not to privatise but to reform and
make it efficient by bringing in private sector operational
modalities within the transmission company.

On the federal government’s 40 per cent stake in the
Distribution Companies (DISCOS), Malo said the shares were still
intact and protected by BPE.