Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called on members of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to ensure all transactions are conducted with utmost regard for the public interest.
Shettima made the appeal on Wednesday during the second NCP meeting for 2025 held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He highlighted the importance of transparency, accountability, and strict legal due diligence in Nigeria’s privatisation efforts.
The Vice-President further stressed the need for rigorous oversight to guard against future legal challenges and financial losses.
He noted that the council bore both legal and moral responsibility for safeguarding the country’s economic interests.
“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 said.
StarReporters reports that the council, chaired by the Vice-President, reviewed several key privatisation initiatives.
These include the divestment of shares in Ibadan Disco by acquisition lenders, the delineation of assets and liabilities for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN-NISO), and the review of the concession agreement for Zungeru Hydroelectric Power PLC.
The council also received updates on the World Bank’s $500 million Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), as well as on various dispute settlements involving power sector entities and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
(NAN)