The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, has revealed to the media that the federal government has eventually reached a successful mutual agreement to proceed with the sale of five power plants built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP). This comes following an initial opposition to the sale by the state’s governor. He noted that the mutual agreement on the critical need to realize value from these assets before they depreciate beyond value had stalled the sale for about two years.
According to him, the transactions could reach a financial bid opening before the end of the year, with the proceeds to come in the first quarter of 2023 and shared between the federal and state governments. The assets have been categorized as federation assets given that they were built with federation revenue, ordinarily shared between the three tiers of government. As such, he said that the federal government would receive the statutory 47 percent of the privatization proceeds, while the balance of 53 percent would be distributed among the states.
Upcoming Year would exceed the projected N260 billion.
The 2023 Fiscal plan is expected to contribute a sum worth 260 billion Naira as privatization proceeds. However, with the imminent sale of the five power plants, Okoh expressed optimism that contributions of the privatization proceed to the federal government budget in the 2023 Fiscal Year would exceed the projected N260 billion. When asked about the concession of Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Okoh clarified that the organization was not involved. He explained that the process was overseen by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, noting that BPE was only involved in the resolution of the ownership issues.
Moreover, the Director-General claims that it can only be said that BPE was involved in the resolution of the Warri Port concessions that went south due to the fact that one of the assets that were committed under the Global Concession had been concessions by the BPE. For this reason, the organization got involved in negotiations with Global Infrastructure to take them out of Ajaokuta. In his statement, Okoh made it known that BPE, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, had embarked on a comprehensive health sector reform that would serve as a legacy achievement of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
Round funding is a major problem bedeviling the administrative framework.
Mr. Okoh said that the Health Sector Reform initiated in 2019 has seen some progress, having engaged a consultant to do a diagnostic review on the health sector to ensure the availability of health care for out-of-pocket expenses. He asserted that it is noticeable that at least 80 percent of the population is not covered by any form of health insurance, which means that in the case of any occurrence that necessitates health care delivery, the payment will be their burden.
In response to this, the government has taken charge of providing quality health care to the citizens with the dimensioned multiple levels of the health sector, from primary to tertiary. Also, round funding has been identified as a major problem bedeviling the administrative framework. In addition to the government endeavor, Health Reform Committee had been set up, a platform spearheaded by the Vice President as the committee pivoted the health sector with transformational themes. Not long ago, the committee came up with a new theme said to be Great Paper, a Concept Note: essentially the concept of how to restructure the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.
The aim is to reposition the healthcare delivery framework.
Among other concerning issues, the government is looking at how to shift administrative and decision-making powers to the institutions, especially at the Medical Centers and the Teaching Hospitals, where healthcare is delivered. Generally, the administration aims to reposition the healthcare delivery framework for Nigerians along the line of what you have in the National Health Interview (NHIS) in the UK, where the public can consume healthcare delivery through various means like insurance. Ultimately, Okoh gives a rest assuring the public that the new model would adequately address the challenges currently bedeviling the health sector in Nigeria, emphasizing that all hands are on deck to ensure the initiative is implemented without a hitch.
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