The Central Bank of Nigeria has pledged to collaborate with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to carry out reforms in the various sectors of the economy.
Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor, CBN while receiving the management team of BPE led by Dr. Christopher Anyanwu, its director-general on a courtesy visit in his office noted that the Bureau has a critical role to play in the economy of the nation and needs the support of all other government agencies.
He charged BPE to take full responsibility for its actions, pointing out that the failure of the Bureau to fix power in the country is impacting negatively on the organization and indeed, the nation’s economy.
“If you are able to fix power in the country, you will endear yourself to Nigerians because power drives the economy and we at the CBN are willing to assist you achieve the goal”, the CBN governor stressed.
Sanusi said for the country to move forward “power must be deregulated and concessioned”, noting that the huge amount of money expended by the government in the sector has not yielded the desired results.
According to him, banks were unwilling to grant lending in the sector because of the non-involvement of private investment “and you can’t have economic growth in the hands of government or an opportunistic few”.
Earlier, Anyanwu told the CBN governor that the Bureau shares in the vision of his reforms.
Anyanwu said that the reforms in the banking sector had inspired confidence in depositors and that the financial sector is vital to the privatization programme.
He solicited the co-operation of the CBN in the privatization exercise, particularly the Nigeria Security Minting and Printing Company and Nipost, adding that from time to time, the Bureau would hold consultations with the apex bank on the reform programme.
