What will happen to Nigeria's economy if FG sells public assets - Finance minister reveals

Friday, January 22, 2021 at 11:36 AM by Onyirioha Nnamdi

- There is a strong possibility that more of Nigeria's public assets will be sold to private hands

- In fact, the federal government is of the view that selling some properties that are not in use will benefit the nation's economy

- The finance minister, Zainab Ahmed, favoured this position on Friday, January 22

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The federal government has backed its planned move to sell some supposedly moribund public assets.

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 said that by selling such properties to private hands, the government will invariably boost the nation's economy, Channels TV reports.

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.”

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“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 minister explained that the aim is not just to fund the 2021 national budget but to get the assets working for economic gain.

Selling public assets will boost Nigeria's economy, says finance minister — The finance minister said Nigeria's economy will benefit more if FG sells some public properties (Photo: @NigeriaGov)
Source: Twitter

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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.

The Senate committee on privatisation on Tuesday, November 17, 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."