Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has called on the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation to prioritise the interest of the state in the privatisation and commercialisation of public companies and national assets.
Governor Fubara, during a courtesy visit to Government House in Port Harcourt by the committee, led by the chairman, Senator Orji Uzo Kalu, emphasised the need for the state to have a stake in companies being privatied, to ensure their protection and viability.
The governor urged members of the committee to factor in the interest of Rivers State as they recommend the privatisation and commercialisation of public companies, saying that when the state buys stakes in such companies, it can be protected and supervised to be viable.
“I will also appeal to you that in this process of privatisation, anything that has to do with our own State here that needs to be privatised, the Rivers State Government will be interested.
“Because you can’t come here and own our property when we have the resources to have shares or to acquire some portion of it. So, as a committee, if there is anywhere you can support us; if they is anyone that is still available, let us know, and let us get the details so that we can own it.
“It is only when we own it that those assets can be protected. It is only when we own it, that is when those assets become viable to the State, and also become viable to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he noted.
In his address, Senator Kalu said the committee was in Rivers State to carry out oversight duties on some projects under its purview.
Kalu, who is the member representing Abia North Senatorial District, commended Governor Fubara for his love for peace and determination to offer quality governance and keep pace with providing the right climate to engender economic growth to all residents in the State.
He pledged the readiness of the committee to work with the state government to achieve mutually beneficial goals that will advance the interest of all Nigerians, adding that the hardship in the land was already enough burden that leaders need to concentrate efforts to address to promote growth and prosperity for all.+
