BY ONYEKA AJUMOBI ONOCHIE
The Senate Committee on Privatisation has called for review of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE’s) budgeting structure to reflect its cost of transactions. Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, made this call during the BPE’s 2019 budget presentation at the National Assembly, Abuja this week.
He noted that since the funds generated by the Bureau annually are remitted wholly into the Federal Government’s coffers, the government should be able to adequately fund the Bureau’s activities, in general and the cost of its transactions which generate the revenue, in particular.
According to the Vice Chairman, President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to leaving a lasting legacy in the economic development of the country, including the power sector, explaining the desirability for reviewing BPE’s budgeting structure, especially on transaction costs, with a view to ensuring a more efficient privatisation process to reflect the President’s economic plans.
Abdullahi, therefore, pledged the Committee’s unwavering support to the success of privatisation in the country, stressing that achieving the President’s economic plans required a joint effort between the Senate Committee and the Bureau.
Consequently, he advised the privatisation and reforms agency to present before the Committee, an outline of its 2019 cost of transactions, billed for onward review with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
Earlier, the Director General of the BPE, Mr. Alex A. Okoh, had acknowledged the Committee’s support which, in the last four years, had led to the successes recorded in the privatisation and economic development of the country.
He informed the Committee that, for the 2019 fiscal year, the Bureau plans to carry out transactions in the power sector which included; the re-privatisation of Yola Electricity Distribution Company, privatisation of Afam Electricity Generation Company (Afam Power Plc & Afam Three Fast Power Limited) as well as the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) for which an improved budget would ensure seamless transactions and greatly impact on the performance of the Bureau’s mandate.
Okoh lamented the disproportion between funds released and amount budgeted and the attendant draw backs on the mandate of the Bureau.
According to him, “in 2018, N2, 009 billion was allocated to the Bureau but only N1, 3191 billion was released, most of which was for recurrent personal expenditure.”
On internally generated revenue, the BPE boss stressed that the Bureau remits 100% of what it generates into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CFR) and does not retain any proceeds whatsoever, emphasizing that the enhancement in BPE’s budget would not only increase contributions to the nation’s treasury, but also boost economic development through privatisation.