BPE completes 234 public transactions – DG
The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) says it has completed 234 public transactions through privatisation, commercialisation and concessions since its inception.
The Director General of BPE, Mr Alex Okoh, said this at the Nigerian Investment Showcase in London, United Kingdom.
A statement in Abuja on Wednesday by Ms Amina Othman, the Head of Public Communications in BPE, quoted Okoh as saying that from that the bureau had expanded private sector participation in the Nigerian economy from that period.
Okoh said BPE had also attracted quality foreign investors and capital to the country as well encouraged the private sector to be the engine room of economic growth and development.
According to him, BPE is achieving a more efficient allocation of government’s resources by redirecting funding of public enterprises by government to other key sectors of the economy that are socially imperative such as healthcare and education.
The BPE director-general said that the reform and privatisation programme of the Federal Government had impacted positively on some key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
He listed some of the sectors as telecoms, pension and seaports.
“The telecoms sector for instance, has achieved almost 100 per cent teledensity with over 192 million connected lines, while over 146 million lines had been active as at May 31, 2015 and over 40 telecoms licensed in the country.
“Reform in the sector has also brought about over a million direct and indirect jobs into the Nigerian economy, while the ICT sub-sector has witnessed phenomenal growth.
“On pension reforms, 6.2 million contributors were registered from 180,586 employers as at October 2012 ,while 55,904 retired.
“They are currently receiving their monthly pensions as and at when due with the total value of pension industry assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme now at over N9 trillion,” he said.
Okoh said that the 2019 work plan of BPE was expected to contribute N220.4 billion to the N8.91 trillion 2019 Federal Government’s budget from its privatisation and commercialisation activities.
According to him, the funds are expected to come from some concluded transactions along with the privatisation of the Kano Free Trade and Calabar Free Trade Zones.
“The funds will also be generating from partial commercialisation of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) and partial commercialisation of three selected national parks in the country,” he said.
Okoh said that the Federal Government would divest from the 10 newly built gas-fired National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) on completion.
