The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is on the verge of carrying out an impact assessment exercise on select privatised enterprises under the reform and privatisation programme of the federal government, the Director General of the Bureau, Alex Okoh disclosed.
The exercise is to be undertaken in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER).
Okoh, who made the disclosure at the inaugural meeting of the Assessment Technical Working Group (ATeWG) in Abuja Monday, said the essence was to enable the federal government showcase the impact or otherwise of the privatisation programme.
According to a statement issued by Amina Tukur Othman, the BPE Director General, who was represented by the Director of Development Institutions and Natural Resources Department (DI & NR), Mr. Joe Anichebe, it noted that after three decades of the privatisation programme, the Bureau deemed it necessary to review the performances of the privatised enterprises to ascertain whether or not the targeted objectives of the programme have been achieved.
The Assessment Technical Group, which is chaired by a Deputy Director in the Bureau, Mr. Adbdul-Azeez Mu’azu Mafindi, has membership drawn from NISER, NBS and BPE.
The group is to carry out a neutral assessment of the Bureau’s concluded transactions to showcase the achievements and challenges encountered by the privatised enterprises as well as monitor the growth, efficiency of privatised enterprises.
It is also to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of privatised enterprises using relevant and accurate data in planning effective interventions.
An assessment study will be carried out on six sectors, including the telecommunications sector, maritime sector (ports), Eleme Petrochemicals Company, cement companies, ground handling companies (NAHCOL and SAHCOL), as well as the hospitality sector.
Mr. Louis Chete, representative of NISER, thanked the BPE for the initiative and promised to work with the Bureau to achieve the desired goal.
