How sale of public assets contributes to Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges –SDP’s Adebayo

The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the 2023 general elections, Adewole Adebayo, has attributed sale of public assets to Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges.
Adebayo condemned successive governments from 1999 till date for disposing of critical government enterprises under the guise of privatisation, stressing that privatisation of government enterprises is wrong.

He particularly faulted the Olusegun Obasanjo administration from 1999 to 2007 for selling such public assets as the then National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, the Nigeria Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria, NICON, and the Nigerian Hotels Limited, among others.

According to him, what the government should have done was to privatise the industry or the sector but not the enterprise.

The politician lamented that the ripple effects of that singular policy have been massive infrastructure challenges, massive savings challenges, massive unemployment and a lack of places to train people.

“This is because in those days, if you finished school, you could join NEPA, and they would train you. Many engineers in Nigeria today were produced there; many people who are great engineers today are products of NEPA.

“So, you have somewhere to go and work, but we have destroyed the public works department. So if you see any state government in front of the camera trying to commission or start a 10 km road, you will see one Lebanese person standing in front of them.

“Even simple works that they could do with the public works department, they will not. I have more equipment inside my compound, you know, than the entire ministry of works,” he said.

How sale of public assets contributes to Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges –SDP’s Adebayo