T HE Federal Government seems to have ignored the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), making it idle. That is not the best thing to do.
I suspect that the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) by the bureau in question during the previous administration and the alleged corruption in the process, coupled with the failure of the new owners of the PHCN to supply stable electricity, may partly account for the disposition of the present government to the BPE.
However, the point must be made that while the BPE might be wrong in some areas of its assignments, that does not mean that it cannot work well in other areas. The fact is that it has contributed positively to Nigeria’s development in many ways.
So, BPE should not be discredited and abandoned because of the mistakes in the privatisation of the PHCN.
Rather, it should be restructured and empowered for better management, performance and growth.
It is important to recollect that the cheap phone calls that Nigerians are enjoying today is as a result of the good work of the BPE.
It was the same BPE that broke the monopoly in the telecommunications industry. It was the privatisation of NITEL and MTEL which necessitated the arrival of companies like MTN, GLO, ETISALAT and AIRTEL into the nation’s telecommunications sector.
Certainly, Nigerians are now enjoying these telecommunications companies better than when the sector was monopolised, and BPE should be applauded for this situation of things.
Aside the success recorded in the telecommunications sector, the BPE has also achieved a lot in other areas.
The impressive performance of Nicon Insurance is one of the handiworks of the bureau that should not be forgotten in a hurry.
One mistake by BPE should not provide a basis to discredit its reputation and the same mistake should not be allowed to cast a slur on the good works it has done over the years.
Let me at this point appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider, restructure and empower the BPE to enable it to perform better and continue to contribute to nation building.
President Buhari should also not forget that the BPE leadership has been functioning in acting capacity and without confirmation for over two years now.
The government should reconsider the BPE, restructure it and re-empower it. This is the best thing to do for the sake of economic development.
Awunah Pius,
piusawunah@ymail.com
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