THE ROLE OF COMMERCIAL BANK IN THE PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA

Privatization means the relinquishing of part or all the equity and other interest held by the Government or its agencies or enterprises whether wholly or partly owned by the Federal Government. This means reduction of public sector intention in the economic activities divestiture of government activities. Privatization can also be defined as transforming of the government own enterprises from state to private ownership with a view of making profit.
One of the topical issue in our drive for enresructured economy is privatization. The government felt that some public sector business are performing below expectations, some incurred huge debt which are long repaid and serviced by the government. The government also because worried that substantial part of its capital roles were used to support public enterprises where provision of goods and services were often expensive, inefficient and subject to political manipulation. The federal government therefore decided and in stilling these enterprises as a way of saving costs and in stilling the spirits of efficiency in the affected enterprises.
According to a publication in the Daily Star News paper of August 28th, 2000, there have been many years in Nigeria of exhaustive deliberations to share holders on how to put the Nigerian economy on the part of sustainable growth and development. Now a consensus has emerged on the imperative of privatization of state owned enterprises. This quotation from the Daily star has gone a long way in explaining what privatization is all about.
According to a publication in the post express News paper of February 25th, 2003: by Tony Obiechina, “ in a bid to ensure that the privatization programme of the present administration does not suffer any set back the United Kingdom Department of International Development (UKAFD) has granted the Bureau of public enterprises (BPE) E8 million (about N 1.6 billion) to enable it continue with implementation of the programme”.
Infact business world will define the topic as the decision to free state founds from the encumbrances of its parastalas, for instance according to Business Guardian at the close of the year 1998, Government subvention and subsidies to its about 580 parastatals, agencies and extra-ministerial department on enormous. The paper added that government in these parastatals would force on equivalent of this amount for more government business that would impact on the life of the persistence the birth of privatization to achieve this aim.