Recession: FG Recants, To Dump Assets Sale Proposal – Lai Mohammed

The federal government has made a U-turn in its proposed bid to dispose national assets to raise money in order to reflate the economy, describing it as mere speculation.
This position was made known by the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, at the Presidential Villa.
This comes barely one week after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, presided over by the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, with 23 state governors in attendance, backed the sale of national assets as one of the ways to raise cash to reflate the economy.
The NEC, which is the highest economic decision making body, also canvassed advance payment of licence renewals, infrastructure concessioning and implementation of fiscal stimulus.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, had penultimate while confirming government’s plans to sell about 15 per cent of its oil assets held by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which is expected to yield an inflow of $10 billion to the country.
He had said in an interview with top media managers in Lagos that the sale would commence soon. He said the expected income would have been up to $15 billion if the assets were sold earlier in the year and added that a team of consultants had been commissioned to carry out a study on the proposed sale.
Finance minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun had also told business editors in an interview this week that sale of assets would reduce government borrowing.
Recall also that business mogul, Aliko Dangote, was the first to fly the kite about a fortnight night ago when he advised the federal government to sell some national assets, saying it was a better option for the country than borrowing from the World Bank or IMF. According to him, what the nation needs now is to beef up its reserves. He particularly advised the government to sell the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd.
The Senate, on Tuesday, however rejected the proposal, saying the country was not bankrupt, and wondered why the federal government would consider the sale of national assets as an option.
However, speaking to State House correspondents, the minister of information said that, so far, all the reports were still in the realm of speculation as the federal government had not officially made its decision known on the matter.
According to him, government is still working on how to reflate the economy in the most comprehensive manner and will make its position known very soon.
Mohammed said: “What the government will do is to reflate the economy; everything you have heard so far is just suggestion, until the government makes its position known.
“All these assets sale, assets leasing, whatever is being bandied about, they are nothing but speculations. The government is yet to come out with its position on how to bail out the economy.
“NEC will recommend but it is the Federal Executive Council that will decide, and what we decide will be the position of government,” he added.
FG Okays New Water Policy
Also yesterday, the federal government approved a new water policy that will improve the management and delivery of water in the country.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the FEC meeting, minister of water resources, Suleiman Adamu, said the Council approved the National Water Policy, National Irrigation Policy and a Draft National Water Resources Bill.
Adamu said, “National Water Policy seeks to provide strategies that will improve the management and delivery of water in the country in particular reference to water supply.”
He noted that the policy was followed by the enabling law – National Water Resources Bill – which essentially consolidates all the existing laws, the Water Resources Act, the River Basin Development Authority Act, National Water Resources Institute Act, National Hydrological Services Act and other Acts put together to form a national law that conforms to international standard and international best practices.
According to him, “By so doing, we have been able to streamline many of the overlapping laws. Sometimes we have conflict in laws; like the one we have with NIWA, about some laws relating to environment and mining.
Adamu noted that the bill seeks to sort out all those issues so that Nigeria can have a standard national law, adding that the country can set up a proper regulatory agency to regulate the water sector.
“With that, the door is now open for the private sector to come in a big way to invest in water supply schemes in this country. The irrigation and drainage policy seeks to recognise and bring in water users association and generally improve not only irrigation infrastructure but irrigation management in the country.”
He observed that Nigeria had the potential of 3.4 million hectares of land for irrigation and that only about 130,000 had been developed formally, with about 70,000 being utilised.
“So, there is a huge gap and we feel that introducing this policy will help us to work along at federal and at regional levels with the states, so that we will have an all-encompassing policy that will help our agriculture agenda for now.
“So it is a good thing that we brought the three policies together and we believe the water resources sector is going to be an entirely different ball game from now on,” he said.
Also speaking, the minister of information, stated that water has become one of the most important resources today with economic, social and political implications.
According to him, the judicious allocation of water for human, livestock, and industry has become one of the serious issues facing humanity.
“As a matter of fact, many countries have gone to war over the issue of water. So I believe it is only timely that Nigeria is proactive and considers the issue of water resources as not one that should be left in the hands of just anybody but that the federal government took it seriously,” Mohammed stated.