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BPE Privatises 142 Enterprises

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8 years ago

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Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, said the bureau privatised 142 enterprises from inception in 1993 to date.
A statement by BPE’s Head of Public Communications, Amina Othman, in Abuja, yesterday said Okoh stated this while receiving House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation on an oversight visit to the bureau.
Okoh told members of the committee that out of the privatised enterprises, 94 had been monitored, adding that 63 per cent of the enterprises were doing well while 37 per cent were not performing.
He attributed the poor record of the non-performing enterprises to operating business environment in the country in which many private or privatised public enterprises had closed down or relocated to neighbouring countries.
Okoh, however, said that the committee had commenced a thorough review of the non-performing enterprises to ascertain the issues affecting them.
He said that 63 enterprises were privatised through core investor sale, nine through guided liquidation, one through sale to existing shareholders, five through public offer and two, through liquidation.
“Eight were privatised through private placement, 41 through concession, two through debt/equity swap and 11 through sale of assets.
“Five are in agric mechanisation, eight in automobiles, seven in banking and insurance, six in brick making and six in the cement sector.
“The others are 10 in energy construction and services, 12 in hotels and tourism, eight in oil and gas, four in paper and packaging.
“Nineteen are in solid minerals and mining, seven in steel and aluminium, four in the sugar sector, 26 in marine transport sector, 19 in power and one in telecoms,” he said.
Okoh listed the new initiatives embarked upon by the bureau to include Afam Power and Yola Distribution Company privatisation and concession of Terminal B of Warri old Port.
According to him, others are the restructuring and commercialisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), partial commercialisation of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), restructuring and commercialisation of the 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs).
He also said the bureau had embarked on reform and commercialisation of three of the nation’s national parks and other initiatives in the power sector.
Earlier, Chairman of the committee, Mr Ahmed Yerima, had said that the committee was at the bureau to have first-hand information on its activities.
He added that the visit was also to ascertain BPE’s compliance with provisions of the 2017 Appropriation Act in line with the resolution of the House that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) complied with the Act.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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23 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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23 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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23 hours ago

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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