Vice President Kashim Shettima has implored members of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to conduct all transactions with the highest regard for public interest.
Shettima made the call on Wednesday during the 2nd NCP meeting for the year 2025 held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Vice-President stressed the need for transparency, accountability, and legal due diligence in Nigeria’s privatisation process.
Shettima also emphasised the need for rigorous oversight on the transactions to prevent future legal proceedings and financial losses for the country.
He said the council had a legal and moral responsibility to protect the nation’s economic future.
“Our legal committee must ring fence every one of these transactions. We are almost always vulnerable to arbitration and being shortchanged.
” Every transaction must be subjected to microscopic scrutiny so that ten years down the line, we will not be called upon to offer explanations as to how we conducted the transaction,” he stated.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the council chaired by the Vice-President, reviewed several major privatisation initiatives.
It includes the divestment of shares in Ibadan Disco by acquisition lenders, assets and liabilities delineation for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN-NISO), and a review of the concession agreement for Zungeru Hydroelectric Power PLC.
The council also received updates on the World Bank’s 500 million dollars Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).
It also received updates on various dispute settlements involving power sector entities and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
