Due to the huge deficit in the 2023 budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly, the Federal Government is working on selling some national assets, including the 50-year-old Tafawa Balewa Square.
Built in 1972, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) is situated in the centre of Lagos Island’s commercial district. It was built at the spot where Nigeria celebrated her independence on the 1st of October, 1960.
TBS, as it is popularly known, is a ceremonial ground with a capacity of 50,000 people, shopping centres, Airline Travel Agencies, Restaurants and Bus terminals.
Investors King gathered that other federal government assets which are likely to be sold include a number of power plants: “the National Integrated Power Projects in Olorunsogo, Calabar II, Omotosho II and Geregu II plants, Oyan Hydro Power Plant, Katsina Alu and Giri Power Plants”.
According to insider sources, some of the assets will be offered to investors for equity while others will be sold to reduce waste.
Similarly, the Federal Government is considering ways of enhancing the value of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation by listing it in the stock market to raise capital as was the case with Saudi Aramco.
In July 2022, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) changed its name to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to pave the way for its transition from a government-owned enterprise to a limited liability company.
In addition, sources confirmed that the Federal Government may extend its tentacles to hotels and landed properties, especially those that could be described as dead capital, to raise money. This will enable the government to have more funds to finance the 2023 budget.
It will be recalled that the 2023 budget proposal with a total sum of N20.5 trillion has a budget deficit of N10.7 trillion. The deficit, therefore, represents 50 percent of the entire budget. Termed ” Budget of Fiscal Sustainability and Transition”, the 2023 budget will be the last to be prepared by the present administration.
