|
|
|
Related Links of Interest
UN-Africa
Reach African Proswww.anpa.org Newspaper SitesThe Comet Westafricannews.net [Hausa] VOA [Hausa] |
Last Macabre Dance of an Ex-President - The Questionable Sales of Public Assets & Hike of Fuel Price
The recent wave of hasty
sales of government shares and interests in various business entities in Nigeria
by the out-gone Olusegun Obasanjo administration is raising a lot of furor not
only within the country but also amongst economy watchers worldwide. More
worrisome is the fact that these shady transactions do not appear to have
followed due process as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the organ set up
by law to privatize public enterprises, seem not to have been appropriately
positioned to carry out these transactions in the national interest. · The Port Harcourt Refinery was sold to Blue Star Oil at the cost of $561 million. Blue Star is a subsidiary of Dangote Group of Companies, an organization owned by one of the biggest financiers of the ruling party the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP]. The Chairman of Zenon Oil, Mr. Femi Otedola [son of a past governor of Lagos state], is another big financier of the ruling PDP. · The Onigbolo Cement Company was grabbed by the Dangote Group at a ridiculous sum of $1.78billion. · The National Arts Theatre was almost sold but a deafening uproar made the auctioneers settle [in the mean time] for an arrangement whereby private companies would operate the national edifice at the cost of N35.8 billion. · The Lagos International Trade Fair Complex went to a company called Aulic Nigeria Limited for N40 billion. · The Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) went to a relatively unknown business group called BHS International for N9.5 billion. · Another company with federal government substantial investment, Ayip-Eku Oil Palm Company was sold to Wingsong M-House Palm Oil Investment Limited for N527million. · The sale of the Kaduna Refinery could not go through initially because the only bidder then, the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation's offer of $102 million was said to be less than the expected amount for the sale. The Dangote Group is still in line. · The Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited was sold to Global Steel Holdings Ltd (GSHL) in what can be best called national tragedy. Global Steel Holdings Ltd is believed to be owned by Obasanjo’s first son, Gbenga, with Liyel Imoke current Governor of Cross Rivers state as down the line partner. · The Egbin Power Plc went to Korea Power Corporation [KEPC] at $280million.The Musa Yaradua government is said to have revoked this particular sale.
Apparently President
Olusegun Obasanjo did not only sell the aforementioned federal government
assets, he also granted hundreds of lucrative Mining Leases and Exploration
Licenses. On May 23, a spokesman of the solid minerals ministry confirmed in a
statement that the former president had granted 50 Mining Leases and 952
Exploration Licenses to international and local firms. Majority of these Leases
and Licenses from all indications went to individuals and entities with ties to
President Obasanjo and the ruling PDP.
As an organization we are
aligned and agree with the Chairman of House of Representatives’ Committee on
Budget, Farouk Lawan that these transactions were all mischievous and "in bad
faith… Such major decisions should be left to the incoming administration, so
that due process is followed and it is done in the overall interests of the
country… hurried sale of the country's largest oil refinery, a cement factory,
18 oil exploration contracts and up to 1,000 mining concessions, among other
assets, in two weeks is unprecedented and smacks off suspicion of foul play, and
therefore should be reviewed by Yar'Adua”. At his inauguration as President, President Musa Yar'Adua promised to prove to Nigerians that the trust they reposed in him by “electing” him president was not misplaced. Nigeria now awaits his reaction to this affront to our collective sensibilities and hope that the new administration would have the resolve to dismantle the legacy of institutionalized corruption which President Obasanjo had deposited at the doorstep of the Presidency. Nothing short of swift revocation of this last minute sweet deals and reversal of these fuel and tax hikes will satisfy the Nigerian people. The revocation of the sale of the Egbin Power station by President Yaradua on his first day in office is a welcome development. NAS joins the organized labour and the plurality of Nigerians in demanding that the Yar'Adua administration makes a bold and decisive move to checkmate other last minute efforts by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and his cohorts to plunder the nation’s precious assets. Only such a selfless and patriotic move will endear the new President and his administration to Nigerians, and, set in motion the right climate to heal the painful wounds inflicted by the April 2007 electoral fraud. Signed:
PROF. OLATUNDE MAKANJU
|
|
Send mail to
webmaster@africananews.com with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
