‘Sell-Off Moribund Industries’

Chairman of Abia Local Government Service Commission, Chief Dan Egbeogu has advised the state government to sell-off its moribund industries.

Egbeogu disclosed this in an interview with newsmen  on Tuesday  in Umuahia while reacting to plans by government to resuscitate the Golden Guinea Breweries.

“I am not advising the governor to go into business or resuscitate moribund industries because government has no business in doing business.

“The government should sell them off to the private sector and this will be to the utmost benefit of residents of the state, “Egbeogu, a former member of the State House of Assembly, said.

He said that no state government in the country had succeeded in carrying out business efficiently, adding that all that the state government needed to do was to create enabling environment for the survival of private enterprises.

“The governor has already started well by getting the Federal Government to restore the army formation in the state, thereby, enhancing security in the state.“

Egbeogu said that the state government should sustain its policy on safe environment and make sure that the city centres and environs were kept clean to attract investors.

“Looking at the pedigree of the state governor, he has been able to handle the affairs of the state well.

“Every aspect of the state’s economy has been touched, but he needs to do more by making sure that the taps are running for people to trek less in getting potable water,“ he said.

At the national level, Egbeogu said that government’s intervention in businesses had not yielded positive results.

“When you look at the trends of events in Nigeria, most commentators tend to favour the statement that government has no business doing business. Such business should be left for entrepreneurs, because government has never succeeded in carrying out businesses.

“The Ajaokuta Steel Mill, which would have been a catalyst in the industrialisation of the country is a case in point. It has not been able to work efficiently due to government’s involvement,“ he said.

Egbeogu said that the country’s quest for adequate power generation would have succeeded if the sector was left to private entrepreneurs.