Solution to recession: Dangote suggests sales of national assets
*Says it’s easier route than IMF, World Bank loans
President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said that the Nigerian recession has a simple solution, which he says resides in embarking on wave of asset selling to boost the recession-hit economy.
In an interview with CNBC, he has advised President Muhammadu Buhari: “I think the real challenge is now for us to have the political will in terms of selling some assets such as the NLNG (Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas) among others,” Dangote said.
“I think it’s an easier route than the IMF (International Monetary Fund) or the World Bank to borrow money, because what you need to do is actually to beef up the reserves.”
Aliko Dangote made the statement before Nigeria’s credit rating was downgraded to B from B+ by S&P Global Ratings on Friday.
“I think the real challenge for us is now for us to have the political will in terms of selling some assets,” Dangote said.
“Nigeria’s economy has weakened more than we expected owing to a marked contraction in oil production, a restrictive foreign exchange regime and delayed fiscal stimulus,” S&P said in a report on the downgrade.
Nigeria’s economy is set to contract on an annual basis in 2016 for the first time in 21 years, with its all-important oil industry suffering under weak global prices. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) dropped by 2.06 percent in the second quarter of 2016, after falling 0.36 percent in the previous three months.
I see nothing wrong in selling this assets at this critical times. My fear is wont this our ‘patrimony’ end the way of daily times, NIGERIAN airways, Nitel, Amcon, NPA etc where the so called investors are only interested in the landed properties and not revival of these ailing industries?. It is a welcome development as it would open up the sector for more investors, all we need is the political will and transparency in the process. A PPP instead of outright sale may be another option.