…harps on policy consistency to attract investors
The Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima has called for an aggressive expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to power the nation’s developmental goals.
Reaffirming the nation’s commitment to unlocking the value of national assets and attracting global capital to achieve a trillion-dollar economy during the first meeting of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) for 2026, the Vice President emphasized that the administration’s primary focus is on strategically aligning private investment with national priorities.
He noted that economic prosperity is not accidental but is designed, negotiated, protected, and sustained by institutions that recognize national assets must serve the public interest.
Reviewing the progress made over the past year, Vice President Shettima highlighted significant milestones in mining, agriculture, and energy.
He specifically cited the sale of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (Eko DISCO) as a landmark event reflecting renewed investor confidence.
The Vice President attributed this growing interest to the administration’s policy clarity and reform consistency.
“Investors do not respond to rhetoric alone. They respond to coherence, clarity, and evidence that a country has the courage to stay the course,” he remarked.
To maintain this momentum, the Vice President urged the Council to accelerate the development of a robust pipeline of bankable projects and cautioned against policy inconsistencies.
He warned that overlapping mandates between government institutions can unsettle markets, stressing that the government must speak with a unified voice to convincingly engage global investors.
A critical segment of the meeting focused on the Power Sector Recovery Programme, a $500 million initiative financed by the World Bank.
In his remarks, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, provided an update on efforts to eliminate estimated billing, a key promise of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The BPE reported that the program aims to procure 3.22 million prepaid meters to bridge the current national deficit of 5.6 million.
He noted that has contracts have been signed for 1.437 million meters while nearly 400,000 meters have already been installed across the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
Mr. Gbeleyi further highlighted the BPE’s commitment to transparency, noting that the Bureau has brought its audited financial statements up to date in compliance with the Public Enterprises Act of 1999.
In a move toward best practices, the 2025 audited financial statements were presented to the Council within the first quarter of the following year.
In addition to industrial reforms, the NCP approved a ₦157 million payout for 830 former staff members of NICON as repatriation allowances that had been outstanding for nearly 20 years.
The Council also approved the lease of four coal blocks to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Enugu State Government, contingent upon the acquisition of mining licenses from the Mining Cadastral Office.