FG Plans N493.4bn Revenue from National Assets’ Sale

The Federal Government plans to earn a total of N493.4bn from the sale or concession of about 36 of its assets across the country.

Some the assets up for sale or concession include the country’s refineries, the International Conference Centre in Abuja, Yola Electricity Distribution Company, Zungeru Hydro Power, Tafawa Belewa Square, among others.

The assets and the projected amount expected from their sale or concession were contained in a document that was put together by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.

The document showed that the properties were classified under energy assets, industries and communication department, as well as development institutions and natural resources.

Others include infrastructure and public private partnership and post transaction management department.

The Federal Government had made it clear that it would sell or give out in concession some of its assets in order to raise funds to finance the 2021 budget.

In January 2021, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National, Zainab Ahmed, told lawmakers that the Federal Government would sell selected properties to fund this year’s budget.

Aside from selling some of its assets, she said the Federal Government would also engage in domestic and foreign borrowings to fund the 2021 budget.

Further analysis of the BPE document, which was submitted to the National Assembly, showed that the government would earn the highest sum of N484.476bn from the energy department.

Projected earnings from industries and communication department, development institutions and natural resources were N9.239bn and N51.112m respectively.

No revenue was projected from infrastructure and public private partnership, rather a total cost of N626.2m would be spent on this department.

For the post transaction management department of the BPE, the government’s projection was that it would earn N212.458m.

It was, however, observed that while the country’s four refineries were grouped under energy department and classified as core investor sale, the amount to be earned from the facilities was not stated in the document.

Similarly, the Transmission Company of Nigeria was grouped under energy department and would be under concession, although no amount was stated as the expected earning from the TCN.

The Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square, River Basin Development Authorities were grouped as assets for partial commercialisation and concession.

Also, the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Abuja, the ICC, Nigerian Film Corporation, among others would be commercialised or given to concessionaires.

There had been diverse views on the proposed sale of national assets by the Federal Government.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, for instance, recently opposed the move.

SERAP recently reached out to the National Assembly, urging the lawmakers to halt the move by the Federal Government to sell the country’s assets, as it argued that this could constitute a constitutional breach.