FG inaugurates technical groups to revive ailing companies

From Uche Usim, Abuja 

Hopes of reviving comatose enterprises brightened at the weekend as the Federal Government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) inaugurated four Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to review and implement a strategic roadmap for their resuscitation. They are for the Automobile, Housing (Bricks and Clay), Mines and Steel as well as Oil Palm sectors.

Inaugurating the TWGs in Abuja, the Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh, said the initiative was in consonance with deepening the ease of doing business initiative and aligns 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 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.

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 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 Programme for each of the non-performing enterprises, Review and advise the Federal Government on the processes and implementation Turnaround Programme and others.