Nigerian government to have 40 per cent in all divested companies

Accra, Sept. 9, GNA - Nigeria says the privatisation of enterprises under her divestiture programme will ensure an ownership structure that gives the Federal Government up to 40 per cent equity. Technical partners and Nigerian citizens will have 40 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

Mr Atiku Abubakar, Vice-President and Chairman of the Nigerian National Council on Privatisation, said this at the on-going Third Annual Pan-African Investment Summit in Accra. He said all enterprises would be privatised through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) through public offer for subscription and sale of shares.

Some of them would be so large that it would be necessary to offer them in tranches. The Summit is under the theme "The Restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises in Africa into the next Millennium."

It is organised by Business in Africa International Magazine and hosted by the Divestiture Implementation Committee and the Ghana Government. Attending the summit are Chief Executive Officers, directors of major public private corporations, banking and financial analysts, consultants, fund managers, media and trade unions.

Issues being discussed are transparency, case studies of privatisation, joint venture opportunities between public and private sectors and a look at the revised role of the state in privatisation as well as post privatisation experiences.

There will be a one-day special conference on Ghana to showcase the country's privatisation programme. Mr Abubakar said: "in all medium and large scale capital intensive enterprises, a core strategic investor with the right technical and financial capabilities would be identified and allowed to take up management responsibilities in addition to its equity holding of a 40 per cent share in the enterprise."