CEM REPORT, FINANCE | In a move to heal the dying economy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is proposing to put for sale about 20 state-run companies to raise funds and improve entity governance.
The federal government is considering selling up to 50 per cent stake in these companies’ strategic sales and initial public offerings.
According to Armstrong Takang, chief executive officer at the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), the proposed sale would be implemented within 18 months.
Bloomberg reports that, he said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) is among the firms in which the government may sell a stake.
Takang told Bloomberg on the telephone, that the primary consideration for the government is to create value rather than retain control stating that “some entities need the private sector to take controlling shares.”
“It is better for us to own 49% of a high-performing entity than 90% of an underperforming entity,” he added.
Nigeria has successfully freed its hands of some public assets, including the sale of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc.
However, some sales haven’t met expectations, particularly in the power sector. Nigerian regulators and banks have taken over companies that account for more than half the West African nation’s electricity grid after they failed to pay their debts.
