FG not out to sell all national assets —Minister

THE Federal Government, again, clarified its position on the raging controversies surrounding its proposed sales of the nation’s assets as the  Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, has said the real intention of the government is to  sell some national assets, and not all, to enable it to reflate the economy.

Speaking during a briefing at the weekend,  in Lagos, to update the media on the preparation for this year’s edition of the  Nigerian Economic Summit, scheduled for Abuja, between October 10 and 12, Senator Udoma argued that the decision to sell some of the nation’s assets was  informed by the need to generate cash in order to boost the economy.

While urging Nigerians to make very good use of the present crisis that the country was currently experiencing, the minister assured that the  Federal Government was doing everything possible to ensure that the pains of Nigerians were ameliorated.

He stated that the efforts of  government would have been yielding results but for the activism of militants in the Niger Delta, that disrupted oil production in the area.

While commending the organisers for picking the theme: “Made in Nigeria,” Senator Udoma noted that this would go a long way in promoting the administration’s commitment to diversifying the productive base of the economy away from oil.