BY DANIEL IDONOR

ABUJA-Chairman, National Council on Privatisation, NCP, Vice President Namadi Sambo, yesterday raised an alarm that about 80 per cent of public businesses so far privatised in the last six months had refused to start full operation.

Sambo, who disclosed that the sad development was adversely affecting President Goodluck Jonathan’s job creation agenda for Nigerian youths, has urged the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, to ensure that all the affected business concerns resumed operations without further delay.

The Vice President, who gave the charge at the NCP meeting, said the essence of privatisation was to ensure that the companies were working, thereby generating employment for Nigerian youths.

He said:   “The reason government is selling these companies is to ensure better management and veritable avenues for jobs creation. The BPE should make sure all the companies sold in the last six months are working properly.”

He decried the process of privatisation which had been going on for about 10 years without the required success due to some perceived problems, saying 80 per cent of the companies that had been privatised were not working.