NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, has called on the Senate to not only review the nation’s privatisation programme, but to revoke privatised companies found to have been sold without transparency and adherence to laid down procedures and global best practices.

In a statement by Chris Uyot, its Head of Information and Public Relations, NLC  commended the Senate on its decisive position on the privatization programme  and it  backed the Senate indictment of all past and present Director Generals of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE,

According to the statement, “the failure of the privatisation gambit can be seen in the fact that over ninety percent of the companies privatized have either collapsed or are in worse conditions than they were before being privatised.  Obviously, the privatisation programme has been characterised by asset striping and sometimes complete closure of privatised companies, like what obtains in the iron and steel industry.

“What we consider to be more criminal is that the funds realised from privatisation over the years have not been accounted for. Nigerians do not know how much has been realised so far from the privatisation programme or what the funds have been used for.

Also, workers in these privatised companies were severely shortchanged with many of them not being paid their statutory severance benefits.  This has been the case in NITEL, Daily Times, among others.We demand that all those indicted or might be indicted in this criminal process should be brought to book. Some of these criminal elements who had obtained public enterprises through fraudulent means.”