APC chieftain and Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over Nigeria’s privatization programme, describing the policy as a failure despite continued defense of it by its proponents.
Afegbua made the remarks during an interview on Arise News while reacting to debates surrounding the legacy of economic reforms implemented during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in which Atiku played a prominent role.
He argued that the privatization programme did not achieve its intended objectives and instead contributed to the decline of strategic national assets, while failing to deliver broad-based economic gains.
Speaking during the interview, Afegbua said, “The former Vice President Atiku Abubakar can shout from now to the rooftop about privatization, but we all knew that it was a failed program whether they like it or not.”
According to him, the outcomes of the policy are visible in the condition of several formerly state-owned enterprises that either collapsed, became dormant or failed to generate the industrial growth that was expected after privatization.
Afegbua’s comments come amid renewed debates over the performance of past economic reforms and the role privatization played in shaping Nigeria’s industrial and investment landscape.
The APC chieftain maintained that the policy did not strengthen productivity or improve the management of key public assets, arguing instead that it weakened important sectors of the economy.
His remarks have generated reactions among political and economic observers, with critics of the programme pointing to abandoned assets and unrealized reforms as evidence of failure. Others, however, argue privatization was necessary to address inefficiencies in government-run enterprises, even if implementation fell short in some areas…..See More
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