FG To Sell Stakes In NNPC And 19 Entities

The Federal Government may sell stakes in about 20 state-run companies to raise funds and improve governance in the entities.

Reports said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is among the firms the government may sell a stake in, according to the chief executive officer at the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, Armstrong Takang.

He stated that the agency is considering options including strategic sales and initial public offerings and aims to implement the plan within 18 months.

He noted that some of the entities need the private sector to take controlling shares and the major consideration for the government is to create value rather than retain control.

He said, “It is better for us to own 49 per cent of a high-performing entity than 90% of an entity that is underperforming.”

These sales may coincide with President Bola Tinubu’s plan to reform the country’s economy.

Takang stated that the agency is in the process of appointing consultants including valuers, financial advisers, lawyers, bankers, and others to handle different aspects of the transactions.

In October 2022, sources at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning exclusively said that the government was considering selling or concessioning about 27 national assets.

The assets included Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, the National Integrated Power Projects in Olorunsogo, Calabar II, Benin (located at Ihorbor), Omotosho II, Geregu II plants, all the hydropower plants across the country, including Oyan, Lower Usuma, Katsina-Ala, and Giri plants.

The sources noted that more than 25 of such projects will be turned into active assets that will generate money in some ways to the Federal Government.

Since 2016, the Federal Government has mulled the idea of selling some national assets to boost its revenue.

Punch/Olusola Akintonde