NUPTE Flays Planned Privatisation Of NIGCOMSAT

The leadership of the Na
tional Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE), has kicked against the proposed privatisation of NIGCOMSAT by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Technology.
A statement by the union’s National President, Comrade Sunday Alhassan on Wednesday said the union believes that a commercialised NIGCOMSAT which is well funded will deliver on its purposes, objectives and  generate more revenue for the Federal Government than if it is privatised.
Alhassan said the union was opposed to the privatisation for obvious reasons as the union was aware  that the Federal Government wants to realise the full benefit of NIGCOMSAT if it is privatised through individual ownership, but stressed that a lot of the government enterprises that were privatised are not doing well today.
The union boss further stressed that those individuals who bought those enterprises wanted to feather their nests, but today a lot of the enterprises are in a state of comatose.
The labour leader explained that the privatisation of NIGCOMSAT should not be encouraged by the government as the process should be stopped to avoid confrontation between the management of the organisation and workers of NIGCOMSAT.
Alhassan cautioned the NIGCOMSAT management against going ahead to disengage 150 workers of the organisation in the name of privatising the organisation, stressing that the union would resist any attempt to sack any of its members working with NIGCOMSAT.
He said the union would not compromise its stand and allow the government privatise the organisation as it did with NITEL, stressing that the union has an issue with the sale of NITEL.
Alhassan alleged that the infrastructure of NITEL was undervalued because NITEL was sold at N252 billion, while the value of NITEL about eight months ago was about N1.3 trillion, wondering who stands to benefit from the sale.

Philip Okparaji