The recent report released by the Senate Committee that probed the privatisation of state-owned enterprises since 1999 presents a crucial opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim its position in the comity of civilised nations. In fact, the opportunity to fight corruption and break the culture of impunity has been presented to a government that claims to be implementing a transformation agenda. And we cannot claim to be a civilised nation if we cannot fight corruption. The facts are already in the public domain; what is required now is the political will by the leadership to take decisive action.The revelations from the report of the Senate Committee range from the abuse of due process; deliberate failure and refusal to follow laid down rules; undervaluing of enterprises before their privatisation; criminal collusion and gang up against the public interest; asset stripping and outright looting of the national patrimony. It is, simply, a litany of woes. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was reported to have usurped the role and powers of the National Council on Privatisation contrary to the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act of 1999. Under the Act, the Vice-President presides over the Council. By such disregard of the extant law, Obasanjo caused the Director-Generals of the Bureau of Public Enterprises to be reporting to him instead of the Council. Former Director-Generals, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, Dr. Julius Bala and Mrs Irene Chigbue, were recommended to be reprimanded for seeking approvals directly from the President instead of the Council.The report recommends the removal of the current Director-General of the BPE, Bolanle Onagoruwa, for gross misconduct and incompetence, illegal and fraudulent sale of the five per cent stake of the Federal Government in Eleme Petrochemical Company Ltd in violation of the provisions of the Act. The report further recommends the cancellation of the sale of Daily Times Plc to Folio Communications based on the fact that the company did not qualify as a core investor with requisite financial capacity to turn around the fortunes of Daily Times. It used the property of Daily Times as collateral to raise a loan with which it paid for DTN. The implication of this transaction is that Daily Times must have been grossly undervalued. To obtain a loan from a financial institution, the collateral must be worth, at least, two to three times the value of the loan. The recommendation of the Committee on Daily Times also confirms an earlier judgement of a court.The sale of Nicon Luxury Hotel is recommended for revocation based on the failure of the core investor, Jimoh Ibrahim, to inject funds and furnish the hotel to attain a five star status. The sale of Nigeria Re-Insurance Company to Global Fleet was also marred by controversy. A company worth N50bn was sold for only N1.05bn. After the sale, Ibrahim is reported to have used only two of the companys assets to secure a loan of N41bn from Union Bank Plc. The implication of the foregoing is that the supposed core investor did not have the financial muscle which would have qualified him as a core investor. The sale of Transcorp Hilton and Sheraton Hotels and Towers are also recommended for cancellation.Delta Steel Company was found to be grossly undervalued before privatisation. A company worth $1.5bn was sold for $30m and the investor failed to deliver on post- acquisition agreements. The Aluminium Smelter Company was also sold for peanuts and the purported core investor has failed to live up to the post privatisation plan of investing resources and expanding the company. The Smelter company valued at $3.2bn was sold for $130m! The sale of Ajaokuta and Delta Steel companies to Global Infrastructure Holdings were also recommended for revocation. The Committees findings that Global Infrastructure Holdings was been involved in assets stripping at the Steel Mills and exporting the equipment to India points to the fact that the company has been sabotaging Nigerias development aspirations. This is economic sabotage and should be so treated by the authorities. What comes out clearly from the Committees report is the abuse of public trust, criminal breach of trust and the gross violation of extant laws. Even if Nigerians have lost their capacity to be outraged by scandals, this is the hour to re-ignite the passion of Nigerians for what is right, just and fair. At a time the government is calling on Nigerians for sacrifice and belt-tightening, such revelations have confirmed the long held public suspicion that our leaders in collaboration with their cronies have contributed in no small measure to the economic deprivation and ruin of the majority. Nigerians will continue to rebuff the calls for sacrifice if nothing is done to retrieve public assets illegally converted to private property.It is unfortunate to note that those indicted have so far responded with grandstanding and have refused to own up to their shortcomings. Nigerians are not interested in unnecessary grandstanding and diversion of attention away from what has happened. Nigerians need public apologies and compensation from the actors who perpetrated this rape. They should be prosecuted if we still have a public officer designated and earning salaries as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. If the Attorney-General refuses to prosecute, there is nothing in our body of laws stopping the Senate from briefing a private legal practitioner and financing the private prosecution of those who have been found to have breached the law. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should also be interested in this report and that part of its mandate which requires it to identify, trace, freeze, confiscate or seize proceeds derived from economic crimes or the properties the value of which correspond to such proceeds, should be activated.For the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigerians need transparent guarantees of non repetition which would be tested in the ongoing privatisation in the power sector. The processes and systems of the BPE have been shrouded in secrecy for too long. It is no longer acceptable that Nigerians get to hear of these frauds after the fact. The BPE should give Nigerians a blow-by- blow account of the proceedings of any privatisation exercise, the criteria for selection of core investors and how a particular investor is emerging as the preferred bidder. This should be available through a continuous update of information on its website which would also be disseminated thorough other media. BPE should open up and make its activities more responsive to the needs and aspirations of Nigerians considering that it was set up with taxpayers money. The recommendations of the Committee after approval by the Senate should be implemented to the letter. It should not be allowed to gather dust and go the way of previous recommendations by legislative committees.- Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice wrote in via censoj@gmail.com, 08127235995.
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