The Federal Government of Nigeria is creating a list of assets that will either be sold or concessioned to pay for the N10.7 trillion 2023 budget deficit amid Nigeria’s fiscal crisis.
According to sources at the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, The Punch reported that the government is considering selling or concessioning Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, all of the National Integrated Power Projects in Olorunsogo, Calabar II, Benin (located at Ihorbor), Omotosho II, and Geregu II plants.
The Ryan, Lower Usama, Katsina-Ala, and Giri plants, among others, will all be sold or put up for concession by the government. More than 25 of these assets will be made into operational assets that, in certain ways, will generate income for the federal government. Also, o cut down on waste, some of them will be sold completely while others will be provided to investors as equity.
The government also plans to profit from the free zones in Calabar and Kano, the Abuja Water Board, the Nigerian Aluminium Smelter Company, the National Film Corporation, the National Theatre, and the Lagos International Trade Fair. Additionally, the government intends to turn over the management of some of the basin agencies to the private sector.
To better compete with other privately-managed logistics companies, several government departments, like the postal service, will be given concessions or completely sold to the private sector. It was also learned that the Federal Government was looking for ways to raise funds by listing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the stock market, much like Saudi Aramco had done.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil business raised $25.6 billion through an IPO, exceeding Alibaba’s $25 billion value from five years earlier.
The government intends to turn the currently commercial enterprise, which is currently valued between N30 trillion and N50 trillion, into a genuine source of revenue and profits for the government and the shareholders the next year.
The sale of these assets might not be advantageous to this government. Although it is a little late, the goal is to bring all of those inactive assets to life. Let’s at least reduce trash, one of our sources advised.
According to additional sources reaching Punch, the Federal Government will use hotels and landed properties, particularly those that could be considered “dead capital,” as a means of raising money.
Quoting a trustworthy source, The Punch wrote that to reduce waste and boost the economy, the government was likewise eager to stop paying salaries in those properties that were under its control.
