Stakeholders plan to report BPE to Yar’Adua over NITEL/MTEL privatisation

Gbola Subair, Abuja - 28.06.2009

A move to strip the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited [NITEL] of some of its valuable assets has been uncovered as stakeholders alleged plan to rush the privatisation of NITEL-Mtel.

According to some concerned stakeholders, plans are under way to secretly sell some of the assets of the company ahead of the privatization, stressing that if this is allowed to happen, it is capable of undervaluing the price of NITEL.

Disclosing that this would not augur well for the national carrier, the stakeholders said the move by those they described as subversive element to subvert the process of a fair and transparent privatization of NITEL would not augur well for the sales of the National Carrier.

Noting that the re-privatization of NITEL was long overdue, the stakeholders said if the plan to limit the numbers of those bidding for company is carried out , it may scare off potential foreign investors who would have loved to have a stake in NITEL.

Advocating a level playing ground for all investors, the stakeholders said the National Communications Commission [NCC] should live up to its earlier position paper which forbade certain group from bidding for NITE/Mtel.

On the recent anti privatization of some groups, the stakeholders said many of these recent activities would damage the privatization programme, embarrass the Federal Government of Nigeria.

On the way out, the stakeholders said the security services should investigate these and other matters, stressing that NITEL holds key position in regards to national security.

To ensure that things are done the normal way, the stakeholders said they will be reporting the issue to President Umaru Musa YarAdua before the NITEL-Mtel Privatization is bungled again.