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Tag: BPE

  • Reps urge NPC, BPE to suspend sale of Afam Power Plant as scrap

    Reps urge NPC, BPE to suspend sale of Afam Power Plant as scrap

    From Jonas Ike, Abuja

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday urged the National Council on Privatization NPC and the Bureau of Public Enterprises BPE to immediately suspend its ongoing sale of Afam Power Plc on a fast track transaction basis and allow for repair of of the national asset in phases to enhance its value.

    The House equally mandated its Committee on Privatization and Commercialization to invite the Director-General of BPE with a view to ascertaining the status of the project and report back to the chamber in 4 weeks.

    The lawmakers also resolved that the Federal Roads Management Agency FERMA do construct and rehabilitate roads leading to the power plant and the relevant government agencies to complete the repairs in phases 4

    and 5 of the plant to enhance its value.

    These were resolutions adopted after debating a motion on the subjectmatter sponsored by Hon. Ayodele Oladimeji (Ekiti, PDP) on the floor of the House.

    Oladimeji while debating the motion noted that the BPE has resumed the Privatization of Adam as a dilapidated asset or scrap on a fast-travk transaction of Adam Power Generation Company earlier suspended as the means to finance the 2018 budget.

    He further noted that Sapele Power Plc and Ugheli Power Plc were privatized by the BPE in 2013 in the same manner as the planned privatization of Afam Power Plant Plc and both are now in dire need of financial constraints with other generating companies (Gencos).

    He hinted that the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN disbursed N701 billion as payment assurance guarantee due to expire in December 2018 to the Gencos adding that despite that they are still facing serious liquidity crisis.

    He also expressed concerns saying that the sale of the Adam Power PLC as a dilapidated asset on a fast track basis will not yeild the disired result envisaged by the Federal Government in privatizing public enterprises as it would likely join the league of 37 non performing public enterprises.

    Speaking in support, Deputy Speaker Hon. Lasun Yusuff said that the previous privatization of public enterprises in Nigeria were done awkwardly by government agencies.

    The lawmaker said that the power sector is an important sector and indeed the commanding height of the economy that ought not to be controlled by private entities.

    Also in his contributions, Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila said that as a House, we must be careful in privatizing government agencies. He said that the nation must be wary of issues of distortion in the sale of public assets.

    Other lawmakers as Hon.Sergius Ogun (Edo, PDP) and Hon.Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia,APC) also supported the motion saying that the Afam power plant should not be sold without due process not to talk of outright sale as scrap.

    Consequently, the Speaker Hon. Yakubu Dogara threw the matter to a voice vote and it was voted for overwhelmingly.

    Dogara also mandated the House Committee on Privatization and Commercialization to ensure it properly investigates the matter and report back to the green chamber in 4 weeks for further legislative actions.

  • BPE to raise N300b to fund 2018 Budget – DG

    The Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr Alex Okoh on Monday said the Bureau will generate over N300 billion from privatisation and commercialisation to support the 2018 budget financing.

    Okoh spoke in Lagos at the Stakeholders Media Interactive Forum organised by the Enterprise and the Stakeholders Engagement Committee of the National Council on Privatisation (SEC-NCP).

    The BPE plans to generate N300 billion into the 2018 budget through the sale of some national assets, such as the Afam Power Plant in Rivers State, Geregu, Calabar and Omotosho National Independent Power Projects, re-privatisation of the Yola Distribution Company, River Basin Development Authorities and the National Parks.

    Some of the transactions in the pipeline include the concession of Warri Old Port, the reconcession of the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, the sale of Afam Power Plant and three National Independent Power Projects.

    The DG explained that the BPE recently concluded the sale of the Federal Government’s 21 per cent interest in the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The transaction is expected to contribute over N17 billion to the national treasury.

    Okoh said the process for recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture to create a stable financial institution that will support farmers was ongoing.

    He said the government through the CBN and farmers associations would acquire 40 per cent each of the equity while the private sector would acquire 20 per cent.

    Okoh said the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) would be unbundled into five commercial entities.

    The BPE boss said the Enterprise was entering into new privatisation reform programme through Public Private Partnership.

    He said the new reform programme targeted the utility and infrastructure sectors including railway, highways, roads, airports and the health sectors.

    Okoh said 142 companies had so far been privatised since the inception of the programme.

    Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohamed, the Chairman of SEC-NCP, who chaired yesterday’s event said despite the massive investment of about $100 billion in setting up some public enterprises, they have failed to live up to expectations adding that they are consuming a large proportion of resources without providing commensurate returns or services.

    Mohammed added:”More importantly, they failed to allocate their resources efficiently, even as they consumed over $3 billion annually, by way of grants, subsidies, import duty waivers, tax exemptions, etc.”

    He said there are ongoing reforms and privatization in various sectors of the economy, including Communications, Development Finance Institutions, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Federal Housing Authority, National Parks and the River Basin Development Authorities.

    The Power and the Postal sectors, Federal roads, Railways, National Inland Water Ways and a host of other enterprises are also slated for reforms and privatization.

    The Minister said the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had initiated and executed far reaching reforms in the Communications, Pensions, Sea Ports, Debt Management, Solid Minerals as well as the Power sector reform that led to the unbundling and privatisation of the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

    “Some of these reforms led to the establishment of both regulatory and other agencies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Pension Commission (PenCom), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria Electricity Liabilities Management Company (NELMCO), and the Nigeria Electricity Bulk Trader (NBET),” he said.

    Alhaji Mohammed said the BPE had drafted eight reform bills that, when passed, will liberalise the relevant sectors and lead to the setting up of appropriate regulatory agencies to create the much-needed conducive and enabling environment for private sector investments.

    He listed the bills as the Railway Bill; the Inland Waterways Bill; the Ports and Harbour Bill; the Federal Roads Authority Bill; the National Roads Fund Bill; the National Transport Commission; the Competition and Consumer Protection Bill and the Postal Bill.

  • FG reforms 140 public enterprises in 30 years – BPE

    The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and its predecessor, Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC), have reformed over 140 public enterprises in 30 years.

    The Director-General of BPE, Mr Alex Okoh, disclosed this at the inauguration of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohanmed, who is the Chairman.

    The committee has the mandate of achieving credible public enterprise transformation strategy of the Federal Government.

    Membership of the committee is drawn from the labour unions, private and public sectors, human rights organisations and NGOs.

    Okoh said that the reformed enterprises cut across various sectors of the economy including, banking and insurance, oil and gas, power, hospitality, pensions and telecommunications.

    He said the reformed enterprises went through the process of full or partial privatisation, full or partial commercialisation and concessioning.

    Okoh faulted public opinion that the privatised enterprises were for far less than their actual market value and that they were not doing well.

    “More than 60 per cent of these privatised enterprises have achieved a good level of performance.

    “The power generation companies are performing very well. I can also tell you that the seaports are performing despite some infrastructural constraints.

    It can thus be seen that there is something of a mismatch between public perception of privatisation and the realities of its contributions to the economy.”

    The director-general noted that an effective stakeholder engagement strategy would go a long way in correcting the wrong public perception on privatisation.

    He also underscored the need to build support and understanding for the Federal Government’s reform agenda by effectively communicating considerable benefits of privatisation.

    Okoh said there was an urgent need to manage the concerns and allay the fears of key stakeholders while ensuring that their interests were considered.

    He expressed raised concern over a recent development where certain institutions were engaging in activities which tended to compromise and conflict with the statutory functions of NCP and BPE.

    The minister, after inaugurating the committee, underscored the need for its members to live up to their responsibilities.

    He said the committee should maintain contacts with stakeholders and opinion leaders and in turn advise the NCP on their interests and concerns.

    Mohammed reiterated the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration’s commitment to promoting the participation of the private sector in the strategic economic agenda of the nation.

    He said the government would provide the enabling environment such as the provision of critical infrastructure for the private sector to thrive.

  • Why most private Nigerian firms are failing – BPE

    …Says we’ve privatised 142 enterprises since inception

    The Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) on Tuesday explained why most Nigerian firms are not performing and yielding the desired Return On Investment (ROI) for investors.

    The agency said it has privatised 142 enterprises since inception in 2004 with 37 per cent of them (52) not performing.

    The Director General of the privatisation agency, Alex Okoh, made these known while receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation, led by its chairman, Ahmed Yerima, who were on an oversight visit to the Bureau in Abuja last Thursday.

    A statement sent to media houses on Tuesday by the agency said Mr. Okoh disclosed that out of the 142 enterprises, 94 have been monitored while the rest have not been monitored because “some were either assets sale or in the first phase of privatisation and as such did not fall within the BPE’s monitoring purview”.

    He said out of the privatised enterprises, 63 per cent of them are doing well while the remaining 37 per cent are not performing.

    The Director General attributed the poor performances of the non-performing enterprises to the operating business environment in the country in which many private or privatised public enterprises have either closed down or relocated to neighbouring countries.

    Out of the 142 privatised enterprises, the Director General said, 63 were through core investor sale, nine through guided liquidation, one through sale to existing shareholders, five through public offer and two, through liquidation. He added that eight were privatised through private placement, 41 through concession, two through debt/equity swap and 11 through sale of assets.

    Breaking down the enterprises by sectors, the director general said five were in agricultural mechanization, eight in automobiles, seven in banking and insurance, six in brick making and six in the cement sector.

    The others he listed are: 10 in energy construction and services, 12 in hotels and tourism, eight in oil and gas, four in paper and packaging, 19 in solid minerals and mining, seven in steel and aluminium, four in the sugar sector, 26 in marine transport sector, 19 in power and one in telecoms.

    The BPE boss informed the lawmakers that the Bureau has commenced a thorough review of the non-performing enterprises to ascertain the issues affecting their non- performance.

    He listed the new initiatives embarked upon by the Bureau to include; the Afam Power & Yola Distribution Company privatisation, concessioning of the Terminal B of the Warri old Port, restructuring and commercialization of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), partial commercialisation of NIPOST, restructuring and commercialisation of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs), reform and commercialisation of three of the nation’s national parks and other initiatives in the power sector.

    Earlier, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation, Mr. Yerima, said that the committee was at the bureau to have accurate information on its activities and to ascertain its compliance with the provisions of the 2017 Appropriation Act in line with the resolution of the House that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) complied with the Act.

    Mr. Yerima assured that the committee would use its legislative powers to ensure that BPE’s mandate is not usurped by MDAs, adding that any attempt in that direction was an infraction on the constitution of the country.

  • Postmaster-General calls for postal service reforms

    The Postmaster General of the Federation, Mr Bisi Adegbuyi, has called for the amendment of postal laws to separate regulation from operation to enhance the development of the postal sector.

    He made the call on Wednesday in Abuja in his address at the Senate Public Hearing on the Nigerian Postal Service Act 2004.

    He said that the postal sector was challenged by ‘disruptive technologies’ that are forcing institutions to rethink and re-order their processes to meet the demands of an ever changing customer needs.

    Postmaster-General calls for postal service reforms
    PostmasterGeneral of the Federation, Mr Bisi Adegbuyi

    “The postal sector is perceived to be the most affected as a result of the direct substitution of its core mandate by the internet which in reality is the post office virtualized.

    “Apart from the huge employment potential in the postal sector, the existence of post offices in all nooks and crannies of the country places NIPOST at an advantage over other organizations in terms of spread.

    “NIPOST is well positioned to assist government reach out to the populace particularly the rural dwellers whose role in economic transformation remains critical.

    “The diversified activities in the postal network will not only engender employment for the teeming youths but will also create opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises,’’ he said.

    Adegbuyi said that the debate for the amendment of the bill started in 2004 when the Bureau of Public Enterprises conducted feasibility study on the best way to reposition the postal sector in Nigeria.

    According to him, the result of the study is the recommendation of enactment of a new law which was contained in the bill before the senate 13 years after.

    The NIPOST boss said the amendment of the law would among other things, `corporatize the public postal operator and transform it into a modern innovative business entity in accordance with international best practices.

    “It will promote the provision of modern, universal, efficient, reliable, affordable and easily accessible services of the widest range throughout Nigeria; create a framework for financial and digital inclusion.

    “It will engender national security through verification, authentication and validation of addresses, encourage local and foreign investments in the Nigerian postal industry among other benefits,’’ he said.

    Adegbuyi explained that most countries including Nigeria’s West African neighbours had amended their postal laws to separate regulation from operation.

    He appealed to the senate to create the enabling law that would make it possible for the corporatization of NIPOST into a diversified service provider.

    He added that corporatization would enable NIPOST rake in revenue for sustainability and to build infrastructure for integration, innovation and inclusion.

    In his contributions at the hearing, Mr Okay Uba, General Secretary, Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) kicked against some provisions of the bill which stated that operators should pay 2.5 per cent of their turnover and one per cent of their profit.

    Uba declared that the prevailing economic condition in the country would adversely affect courier companies and urged the Senate to look into the issue.

    Earlier, Sen. Gilbert Nnaji, Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, said it was necessary to repeal and re-enact the 2004 law regulating postal operations in Nigeria.

    Nnaji, co-sponsor of the bill, said the amendment would also create opportunity for `vital legislation’ that would bring the postal reform to global standard of practice.

    He promised that the senate would do its best to ensure that Nigeria benefits from the new law.

     

  • BPE reform: privatised enterprises to list in the capital market

    BPE reform: privatised enterprises to list in the capital market

    Mr Alex Okoh, the Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) says the structure of reforms being carried out by the organisation is targetted at listing of privatised enterprises as the final outcome.

    Okoh said this in a statement issued by the Head, Public Communications, Mr Chukwumah Nwokoh on Sunday in Abuja.

    Okoh said this during a meeting with members of the technical committee on attraction of new listings to the capital market.

    Okoh pledged strong collaboration with the capital market to help strengthen the market.

    “We will collaborate in reviewing what the conditions are and try to make it right for the listings.”

    He, however, raised concerns about the stability of the market and prospects of getting good value should the privatised entities be listed.

    “We will collaborate with you in establishing the conditions that reduces the nerves of the core investors.”

    He explained that there was a period of assessment of privatised entities during which the BPE examines the conditions of listing.

    Okoh urged the committee to adopt a holistic approach in carrying out their assignment.

    The statement also quoted Chairman of the committee, Mr Jallo Waziri, an Executive Director at the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as saying ” the exchange was engaging trade groups, regulators and quasi-regulators to actualise their mandate.”

    He noted that apart from creating efficiency, privatisation was a catalyst for economic growth, adding that it also induces inclusiveness in the populace.

    Waziri said that privatisation also increases the velocity of the capital market, adding that there was capacity in the primary market and depth in the market that was yet to be explored.