By Emma Ujah & Luka Binniyatt
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Transcorp also announced that 25 per cent of the share of the two companies would be put up for public subscription.

Director-General of BPE, Mrs Irene Chigbue, at signing of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) between the bureau and Trancorp, said the handover was of monumental significant and a great victory for the privatisation programme of the Federal Government. She said since 2001, various attempts to sell NITEL had failed until recently, adding that with the handover, the reforms in the Nigerian telecom sector had been completed.

Transcorp, she said, had succeeded in fulfilling all the conditions set up for them after emerging as the preferred bidders. Transcorp has paid the $500 million for the 75 per cent share of the NITEL within the specified period, though it was after an extension. She, however, agreed that Transcorp was yet to pay the remaining $250 million.

“But they still have time to pay that. Part of the agreement was that as soon as they pay the $500 million, they will be given the managerial control of the company.
“They have also brought to government a Post Acquisition Plan, as put in the agreement. They were also supposed to work with the PBE to propose a transition time table which will incorporate the things they need to do within the short-medium and long term. I am pleased to announced that all these things have been done,” she said.

She told the gathering that the BPE was working with the Minister of Finance, Presidential Task Force for Labour Resolution of NITEL, Labour and Communication Ministers to resolve all outstanding Labour issues. “We are not there, but I want to assure workers that by next month everyone will get his or her terminal benefits for those that will be disengaged,” she said. According to her, it was in the fulfilment of these conditions that BPE was handing over NITEL and MTEL to Transcorp.

The D-G explained that the option of “willing seller: willing buyer” adopted by the bureau was owing to the circumstances surrounding the privatisation of NITEL which had witnessed three aborted transactions.