BPE SEEKS CLOSER TIES WITH ICRC TO DEVELOP NIGERIAN ECONOMY
Dr. Vincent Onome Akpotaire and Mr. Aminu Diko
2nd March, 2016. Acting Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Vincent Onome Akpotaire has solicited closer ties between the Bureau and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to service the Nigerian economy.
Speaking on Tuesday, in Abuja when he led other management staff of the Bureau on a courtesy visit to the Director-General of ICRC, Mr. Aminu Diko, the BPE acting boss said though the two agencies had distinct roles, it was incumbent on them to collaborate and synergise for the benefit of the Federal Government’s Reforms and infrastructure development programme.
Akpotaire said that though there was a need for the two organizations to adhere to their terms of engagement for the benefit of Nigerians,” BPE has a long history of brown field concession which cannot be wished away”.
He decried the notion by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of a strained relationship between BPE and ICRC and stated that this had rubbed off negatively on the mandate of the two agencies. He noted that some MDAs have used such seeming friction to frustrate genuine effort at synergy, thus hurting the national economic growth and infrastructure development.
The Acting DG said BPE and ICRC must collaborate to privatise all the enterprises that are scheduled in the BPE Act and that all the obstacles militating against the realization of the objective must be tackled. According to him, “we need to sustain interaction and evolve a strong bond and erase that perception of a frosty relationship between the two agencies.”
He said as a first step, both agencies should form joint Project Advisory Teams (JPATs) and define roles of agencies and engage the MDAs that interface with both organizations.
Earlier, the Director General of the ICRC, Mr. Aminu Diko said that BPE and ICRC were partners, noting that the BPE is the engine room for the Reforms and Privatization programme of the Federal Government. He noted that the activities of the Bureau have given rise to many agencies, including the ICRC.
He pledged his organization’s cooperation with the BPE to change the destiny of Nigeria and “not that of individuals”.
The DG recalled that both organizations have had cordial relationship in the past as most of the foundation staff of ICRC were drawn from the BPE.
