By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo
Ilorin – Association of National Accountant of Nigeria (ANAN), Kwara State chapter of has called for the privatisation of public assets as a way to ending the economy recession in the country.
The Chairman of Association, Mr Ishola Moses made the call on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin.
He said that privatisation of some public assets was a good suggestion, “but has to do with people of integrity and the value of the assets counts.’’
“If the Federal Government should embrace privatisation of assets, it must engage people of integrity and ensure that the present values of the assets are maintained.
“The government should also sign a memorandum of understanding with the investors in question to ensure effective monitoring.
“They should give the investor a time frame and ensure that workers are not sacked to address the issue of unemployment in the country,” he said.
The chairman reiterated that most of the privatisation carried out by government was to lower the values of the assets but different dimension should be applied this time.
“I truly support the call for the sale of the country’s national assets only if transparency is employed in the entire process.
“If the right people acquire the assets, it will be better for the country and Nigerians by extension.
“If we must sell the assets, it must be in line with the existing privatisation policy of the country.
“If the assets can be privatised with core investors that have the experience and the wherewithal to run those assets, we will avoid a repeat of the bad experience of the past.
“Furthermore, the proceeds may be reinvested to save idle production outputs and hence sustain the production activities which in turn will increase purchasing power of Nigerians,” he said.
He further called on the Federal Government to engage experts in the economic circle nationwide to discuss on how to end the recession.
Moses submitted that the government should also diversify to other resources like agriculture, mining and ensure constant electricity to woo more foreign investors to the country.
(Edited by Abiodun Esan/Grace Yussuf)