…says he never ordered probe of BPE

BY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA—SENATE President David Mark disclosed yesterday that he never ordered a probe into the activities of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, just as he said he has no conflict of interest with Vice President Namadi Sambo over any business transactions.

According to Senate President Mark, the motion to investigate the collapse of some privatized Federal Government companies was moved by Senator Ahmed Lawan (ANPP, Yobe) and carried out by the Senate.

A statement yesterday by his Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, read, “Senator Mark and Alhaji Sambo are mutually working together for the success of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan and have no frosty relationship of any kind between them.

‘It is also a huge lie to impute that Vice President Sambo is interested in selling NITEL to a nameless “foreign investor that is prepared to pay $968 million while Senator Mark has a preference to sell NITEL to an indigenous operator, Globacom, for $450 million.

‘’It is important to stress that the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, is neither a member of the National Council of Privatization, NCP, nor the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE.

He therefore has no input whatsoever in the day-to-day activities of these privatization agencies”.