Tinubu’s advisory council recommends sale of assets to settle Nigeria’s debt obligations

By Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

President Bola Tinubu’s Policy Advisory Council has proposed the sale of Nigeria’s assets to settle existing federal government debt obligations.

The advisory council, put together by Mr Tinubu to support the delivery of sustainable and inclusive economic growth, consists of Tokunbo Abiru (chair), Yemi Cardoso, Sumaila Zubairu and Doris Anite, with KPMG listed as the consultant.

The council called on Tinubu’s administration to set a policy directive that all proceeds from the sale of assets must be used to settle the existing federal government’s debt obligations.

Other fiscal recommendations, according to the council, include listing the shares of strategic and profitable Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited

(NNPCL) subsidiaries, leveraging blockchain to create and provide access to a government land registry and regionalising and concessioning the power transmission grid.

The council also recommends privatising, concession or selling down the federal government’s stake in corporate assets to partners and other investors (possibly with a buyback option) to generate liquidity in short to medium term, with a focus on sub-optimal assets such as NNPCL refineries.

It also recommended that the government move to a wellfunctioning, market-oriented power sector; and conduct a forensic review of the outstanding balances and utilisation of Federation funds, e.g. stabilisation, natural resources development fund, ECA (Excess Crude Account) etc.

In addition, the advisory council said the administration should address oil theft and pipeline vandalism and substantially grow oil and gas Production.

It added that the government must deepen and expand the coverage of security contracts in the Niger Delta and deploy special security forces; increase the visibility of production volumes by deploying technology to track crude oil production; and implement technologies to ensure effective tracing of stolen Nigerian crude.

It further suggested the implementation of a domestic refining capacity of two million barrels per day and the provision of economic opportunities for host communities.

It called on the government to ramp up production capacity to 4m barrels from offshore and onshore assets within four years and grow crude oil revenue and savings into Excess Crude Account (ECA) and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

According to the council, the administration should fast-track the implementation of the Host Community Trust Fund in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), and implement measures to double Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)) production from 22m MTPA to 40m MTPA in eight (8) years.

The council also recommended the elimination of the Premium motor spirit (PMS) Subsidy.

To unlock the potential of the solid minerals sector, the council called for the implementation of a framework to formalise and legitimise illegal mining activities and the development of a mining industry roadmap to reposition the sector and attract prominent international players.