The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, who spoke on Friday, January 22, said there are some assets that are completely rundown because they have not been in use for a stretched period of time.
Ahmed speaking on Channels TV reports said that by selling such properties to private hands, the government will invariably boost the nation’s economy.
She noted: “There are some government assets that are dead that can be sold to the private sector to be reactivated and put to use for the benefit of Nigerians.”
“Yes, the privatisation process is an ongoing process. Every year in our annual budget, we have a provision for privatisation proceeds – from the sale of the government’s assets. There are some assets that have been scheduled for sale for years.
“So we are looking at different categories of government assets that government has not been able to manage, that are lying down and in some cases even completely rundown, to cede them off to the private sector.”
“The intention is not just funding the budget, it is to reactivate these assets and hand it over and have them bring contributions to the growth in the economy.”
The minister explained that the aim is not just to fund the 2021 national budget but to get the assets working for economic gain.
Meanwhile, the Senate had raised concerns over the plan by the federal government to sell and concession national assets for the purpose of funding the 2021 budget.
On Tuesday, November 17, the Senate committee on privatisation said the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) never consulted it over the issue.
The committee chairman, Theodore Orji said: “The position of the Senate Committee on Privatization is that we are not aware of the arrangement by the BPE to either concession or put for outright sale some national assets in the country in order to fund the 2021 federal budget.”
