Yinka Ogunnubi, author and finance expert, who tweets @yinkanubi, lends his voice to the sale of national assets debate raging around the country. He attempts to explore the the pros and cons of selling our assets.
Do see below:
1. I want to share some thoughts on this issue of the sale of the national assets which seems to be gaining some ground. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
2. As always I believe understanding the facts will help us to make informed analysis and debate. Now here is what we know. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
3. 1) It was first hinted that govt was considering sale of assets during d debate over d proposed "Emergency Economic Stabilisation Bill".
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
4. 2) Thereafter, Dangote, Emefiele and the Senate President have come out in support of the Sales plan naming specific assets to be sold.
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
5. 3) Udoma at d FEC meeting was said to have listed d assets to be sold. We had no official confirmation of this but it was widely reported
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
6. 4) Yesterday, at the NEC meeting, the Governors endorsed the plan to sell assets. This is our first official confirmation that there is..
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
7. …indeed a plan to sell assets and that it would probably be included as part of an economic recovery plan/bill. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
8. Now when you find everyone speaking in the same tune, it probably tells you that a lot of discussion has been going on behind the scene
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
9. It also tells u there seems to be a convergence of some sort. Infact Emefiele, hinted at engaging consultants to do a study. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
10. Now this subject raises up several questions. I will list them and also attempt to answer the questions. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
11. Questions:
1.Why sell Assets?
2.Which assets are being considered and why?
3.What questions should citizens be asking?#Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
12. Why sell Assets? It’s quite simple. We need cash. Train loads of it. The FG has chosen a strategy to spend its way out of recession.
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
13. They plan to stimulate d economy via stimulus spending on infrastructure and other social investment prog (maybe even raising min wage)
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
14. This is a good plan. The problem only is – with dwindling oil revenue receipt, you need to raise the cash somewhere. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
15. And to raise the cash, the options available to us in the short term is to raise more debt or sell assets. Now there are other options,
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
16. like additnal revenue via diversificatn & cutting waste. Problem is-increasing rev is long term while savings frm waste won't be enough.
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
17. So we are basically back to raising debt or selling assets. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
18. Govt is already borrowing at record levels. With rates as high as 18.5% & credit ratings crashing, our options are gettin more expensive
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
19. Hence the reason why you see the new found love for selling national assets from our economic managers. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
20. While the question of whether we should sell or not is a valid question, also valid is the question of what the money would be spent on
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
21. IMO, for this 2b meaningful, it shd be used to fund massive infrastructure projects dat increases capital formation & not on consumption
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
22. IMO SELLING IT is to SPEND IT on consumption, would defeated the purpose of the sale. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
23. Which Assets are being considered and why?
First let me say that govt has been selling assets since like forever. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
24. Most of it has been in the form of selling non-core assets or divesting from public corporation and holding limited stake. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
25. So selling assets is not new. Infact the PPA 2007 gives specific & stringent guidelines for the disposal of national assets. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
26. From what we've read so far, it appears d following assets are being considered for sale
– FG shares in JV Companies (currently 55–60%)— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
27.
– Govt shares in the NLNG currently 49%
– The 4 refineries in Kaduna, Wari, & Port Harcourt (currently 100% owned by FG)#Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
28.
– Aircrafts in the presidential fleet (about 10)
– Sale of govt stake in financial institutions e.g. Africa Finance Corp#Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
29.
-the privatization and concession of major/regional airpors
– Please feel free to add more#Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
30. Why are these assets being considered? Because they can yield the highest amount of cash in the shortest possible time. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
31. According to Emefiele, the govt cld raise up to $40billion by selling off 10 -15% of its stake in the oil and gas sector. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
32. So it is appears that the plan is not to sell off every stake but only a part. #Sell2Spend
Gosh! i almost wrote "appayas" there. ???
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
33. Remember as well that an injection of close to $40 Billion into the FX market will be a much needed boost for the Naira. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
34. What questions shd citizens be asking?
1.What wld the cash realized from the sale be used for? Consumption or Investment? #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
35. 2. What % of stake in these assets is govt willing to sell? e.g. Do they want to sell all or a part of 100% stake in refs? #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
36.
3. Who are the potential buyers? Like Falana said, its unconstitutional to concentrate the assets of the nation in the hands of a few.— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
37.
4. Can we find other “non-core” assets that can be sold apart from some of the core assets identified? #Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
38.
5. Instead of selling, can we consider leasing?
6. What are d implications of d sale on short, medium & long term govt rev? #Sell2Spend— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
39.
7. What happened to d non-remitted $12.9B which NNPC was said to have received from the NLNG over an 8 year period? Where is the money?— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
40. In conclusion, its important to note that RMAFC has stated its oppositn 2d idea of selling off assets bcos of its implication on revenue
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
41. RMAFC alternative option however leaves much to be desired. It suggest we take a “loan” from d IMF instead. A NO NO for me. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
42. What is obvious is this. There are no easy answers to our predicament. We are between a rock and a very hard place. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
43. Every where u turn, there're difficult & painful decisions to be made. Its d choice between 1 bad decision & another bad one #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
44. Maybe the question we should be asking is – What is the least bad of all the bad options available to us. #Sell2Spend
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
45. Let the debate begin. Thanks.
— Yinka Ogunnubi (@yinkanubi) September 23, 2016
Well, you have to wonder what previous sales/privatization of our national assets have done for the country. Remember NEPA? Secondly, does this not perpetuate the dynamics of the rich remaining rich and the poor not changing levels? Lastly, what would be the fate of employees working in these companies (national assets)?
To be honest, we are not exactly optimistic about this move. The Federal Government has a lot of questions to answer.
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