Selling Nigerian National Assets Is Simply Irresponsible, A Betrayal By Buhari, Says CACOL

President Buhari signing the Paris agreement on climate change in New York in September 2016

The decision by the President Muhammadu Buhari government to sell Nigerian national assets is not only irresponsible, it is also a clear betrayal from those who were elected to bring about change but have only brought hardship and pain, Nigerian activists said on Friday.

The Buhari administration has said it will sell or concession some national assets, including airports, but the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, said doing so would be “a betrayal of the change that Nigerians voted in 2015 general elections and totally irresponsible”.

The Executive Chairman of CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said “contrary to the desire of the masses for the government to abandon the neo-liberal approach in handling the National economy, it has chosen to shove down our throats policies that have failed over and over again globally.”

“Clearly, the decision to sell-off the heritage of Nigerians is based on the dictates of the World Bank, IMF and other Brentton Wood institutions. The decision by the Federal Government, the 36 States Governors and the National Assembly to sell off the heritage of Nigeria hiding under guise of so-called ‘recession’ is prodigal, irresponsible and unacceptable!”

Mr Adeniran wondered what the previous sales or concessions of National assets achieve.

“They only achieved more pains for the people; further decay in infrastructure, poverty and of course the opportunity for the irresponsible and extremely wealthy members of the ruling class and their cronies to share amongst themselves what our heroes past left to us a country.”

“The reality is that the regime is hiding under the guise of ‘recession’ to actualize the ‘agreement’ it had made with the World Bank/IMF and the G-8 countries and this is the outcome of all the junketing around the World that President Muhmmadu Buhari had done since he was sworn in and even prior to his election into office.”

“Every reason been adduced for this decision is completely warped and very unintelligent. We had challenged the President to sell some of the aircrafts in the Presidential Fleet; we had called for the reduction of overseas travel, the slashing the humongous allowances and salaries of elected officials, etc. for the country to cut the cost of governance but government have remained adamant.” Adeniran added

“We condemn and reject this decision in its entirety. We call on Nigerians to act now by resisting this attempt to erase the historical achievements of our heroes past, we must not let this happen. The regime itself should be ashamed that it has no concrete achievement that can be pointed to, yet it wants to sell-off assets that were put in place by past leaders.”

“We are telling the dishonourable members of the National Assembly in particular that, instead of selling-off our National assets, we would prefer to get rid of the country’s Parliament! If truly, Nigeria is in serious economic crisis, it is then the right time to cut the cost of governance at all levels. Government must demonstrate that; truly the interest of the poor masses is a priority beyond personal ostentatious living of a few amidst a vast majority who are living in penury.”

“We assert that all the promises the present government made have been betrayed and with bare-faced impunity. We recall clearly that the pledge made by the present government when campaigning was to revamp the refineries to boost local refining of crude oil, the sale of national was never on the plate!”