Obasanjo Wants States To Privatise Companies
FROM NJADVARA MUSA, DAMATURU
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of government-owned companies and advised state governors to privatise those owned by them.
The President, who spoke at the weekend in Damaturu, Yobe State capital at the commissioning of two companies, said his experience is that government-owned industries in the country hardly make profits.
Stating that governors had better face the act of governance rather than engage themselves in unprofitable ventures, he challenged the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to establish industries while government provides the enabling environment for the entrepreneurs to operate.
While promising government's patronage, Obasanjo urged Nigerians to set up industries in the manufacturing, food, clothing and agricultural sectors of the economy.
Obasanjo who also decried the lack of maintenance culture in the country, said states and local governments should lead the campaign to institute the culture.
Speaking at the commissioning of Gashua township roads and drainage facilities completed at the total cost of N594.39 million, Obasanjo said the lack of maintenance culture has created a situation where infrastructures don't last.
"It is the responsibility of government to provide basic infrastructures such as roads, electricity and potable water, but the people who use the facilities also have a duty not to block the drainages," he said.
"When the drainages are blocked, it can be more disastrous than when they were not built and maintained by the people and their leaders. Drainages are only good and useful to the people and their governments if the channels are not blocked with wastes and garbage."
The drainage has a length of 23.13 kilometres, and it is capable of disposing 8 million litres of water per day into River Yobe.
The President, who assessed the viability of local industries, noted that the best way to add value to goods and services was to further process them.
Apart from processing them, he added that they should also be repackaged so those entrepreneurs can compete in local and international markets.
Obasanjo said the experience he has about local industries is that packaging and quality of the products is below international standards, stressing that 50-60 per cent of the products are below international standards.
Responding, Governor Ibrahim said that all the three industries that were commissioned are agro-alled based, adding that it was part of his government's efforts in reactivating backward integration where the rich mineral and agricultural resources are fully developed by the people in the state.
He assured the President that the privatisation of the factories are in the pipeline, adding that government will only own 15-20 per cent of the total shares of the industries slated for privatisation.
