The Federal Government (FG) has been faced with a dilemma of whether or not it should sell some of its assets to private companies. Several Nigerians have weighed in on the issue and one of the latest to do this is a former Director in the Budgetary Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Titus Okunronmu. In an interview held with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), he highlighted 3 problems that would arise from the sale. Read about them below.
- FG cannot sell the assets for their real value due to poor pricing as everybody knows that the country is in dire need of forex and as such would be in a disadvantaged position during any deal.
- Sale of FG assets would still raise management issues. Okunronmu highlighted one of the main concerns some Nigerians have over the asset sale as questions remain as to who will manage the sold assets, the transparency of those who would moderate the sale and exactly what will be done with the proceeds. It seems more important than selling the assets.
- Asset sale would further restrict income as it would obviously lead to several workers losing their jobs and incomes which would worsen the situation. Rather, Okunronmu believes that the FG should look into the untapped resources to boost the economy.
Parts of this article originally appeared in Premium Times
