APC chieftain and Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, has criticized the privatization policy pursued under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, arguing that it contributed to the collapse of key national assets, including the Aluminum Smelting Company in Ikot Abasi.
Afegbua made the remarks during an interview on Arise News while faulting the privatization drive of the Obasanjo administration, which he said failed to preserve strategic industries and instead led to the decline of critical infrastructure built by previous governments.
He cited the Aluminium Smelting Company in Ikot Abasi, established under former military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, as an example of what he described as a flawed privatization process.
Speaking during the interview, Afegbua said, “Aluminium Smelting company in Ikot Abasi. They sold it like dash. The place has been overtaken by weed as we speak today. Built by the Babangida government.”
According to him, the handling of the smelting company reflected broader failures in the privatization policy championed during the Obasanjo-Atiku era. He argued that rather than strengthening industrial productivity, the policy led to the disposal of valuable national assets without delivering the expected economic benefits.
Afegbua’s comments came as he criticized the legacy of economic reforms associated with the former administration, suggesting that the consequences of those decisions are still evident in abandoned infrastructure and lost industrial opportunities.
His remarks have added to longstanding debates over Nigeria’s privatization programme, with critics arguing some state assets were poorly managed or undervalued, while supporters maintain the reforms were necessary to reduce government inefficiency……See More
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