By Tony Tagbo, Abuja 

The Federal Government has inaugurated four Technical Working (TWGs) Groups to review and implement a strategic roadmap for the resuscitation of ailing enterprises in the country. They are for the Automobile, Housing (Bricks and Clay), Mines and Steel as well as Oil Palm sectors.

Inaugurating the TWGs on behalf of the Federal Government in Abuja, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh said the initiative is in consonance with the ease of doing business in Nigeria and in line with the Federal Government’s   Economic Recovery and Growth (ERGP).

Okoh who was represented by the Director, of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the Bureau, Mr. Ignatius O. Ayewoh noted that the event is a culmination of the efforts by various stakeholders which started in 2018 to revive non-performing privatised Enterprises in the country.

He said that BPE, in discharging its supervisory duties on privatised enterprises through the instrumentality of result-based monitoring and evaluation (RBME) discovered that, about 16% of the privatised companies were non -performing hence the result of the finding was submitted to the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in 2018 and to the Senate Committee on Privatisation in 2020, leading to a  meeting of the relevant stakeholders in the ailing enterprises held in July, 2018.

The Terms of Reference (TORs) for the Working Groups are:

*Conduct diagnostic study on the Enterprises in order to identify their current status (operational and financial positions) and conditions in terms of ownership, share structure and capacity utilisation;

*Prepare a Business Plan that meets the current sectoral requirements,

*Examine the challenges in the sectors,

*Develop a comprehensive 5-year, (2023 – 2027), Turnaround Program for each of the non-performing enterprises,

*Review and advise the Federal Government on the processes and implementation Turnaround Program,

*Determine the potential and economic viability of the sectors, among others.

Also speaking at the event, Director, Post-Transaction Management at the BPE, Mr. Toibudeen Oduniyi,  urged the members to contribute their wealth of experience  and expertise for  the actualisation of the much-desired revitalisation of the non-performing Enterprises for the economic growth of the country.

The representatives of the various committees thanked the Bureau for selecting them to work on the committees and promised to work for the betterment of the nation’s economy.