The Bureau of Public Enterprises has signed an Asset Sale Agreement with the preferred bidder for the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, NATCOM Consortium.
In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, Head of Public Communications at BPE, Mr. Chgbo Anichebe, said the agreement was signed by the two parties in Abuja on Monday.
Anichebe said the Chairman of the consortium, Dr. Olatunde Ayeni, during the ceremony pledged to turn around the moribund telecom conglomerate in the shortest possible time to bring it back to its lost glory.
Ayeni, at the ceremony which also marked the issuance of Letter of Offer to the preferred bidder by BPE, said NITEL still had the potential to be the national carrier.
He said the consortium had the wherewithal to revamp NITEL and its mobile subsidiary, the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited to become the biggest and leading telecommunications outfit in Nigeria and that with the signing of the transaction documents, the process of revamping the organisation had begun.
Ayeni recalled the previous failed attempts to sell the enterprise and maintained that the current effort would not be in vain as the NATCOM Consortium was determined to break the jinx.
He said, “We pledge to make NITEL/M-Tel to come alive again to the delight of the BPE that had unsuccessfully in the past tried to sell the enterprise and to the good of Nigerians who will be employed and afforded another service provider in the telecoms market.
“BPE is indeed, one of the few government agencies in Nigeria that are transparent, meticulous and execute their assignments diligently.”
Director General of BPE, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, said that given the zeal and calibre of persons on the consortium that won the bid, he was confident that the consortium would pay the bid price and make NITEL/M-Tel work again.
“I believe we have the right group to turnaround NITEL/M-Tel and we believe without any doubt in their ability to turnaround the fortunes of NITEL,” Dikki said.
The BPE boss said the transaction had undergone a full circle with ratification and approval by the National Council on Privatisation and that what was remaining now was for the preferred bidder to pay up and take possession.
He warned the preferred bidder that signing of the Assets Sale Agreement did not in any way confer ownership on the consortium; adding that only the full payment of the bid consideration would grant them access to the assets.
Also speaking, the Liquidator for NITEL/M-Tel, Otunba Olutola Senbore, noted that though the task was daunting, with the cooperation of all stakeholders, the transaction was successful.
Following the disqualification of NETTAG Consortium as a result of its failure to provide a bid bond together, only the financial bid of NATCOM Consortium qualified for opening on December 3.
Accordingly, the financial proposal of NATCOM consortium was publicly opened and the consortium won with a bid price of $252.25m.
However, another entity, Arabian Amlak for Investment Limited led by General Abdullahi Mamman (Retd) has gone to court, challenging BPE for selecting NATCOM Consortium as the preferred bidder for NITEL.
The company said it was preposterous for BPE to offer NITEL and M-Tel to NATCOM Consortium for $252m when it had made an offer of $919,999,999 to the privatisation agency.
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