House Of Reps Halt Liquidation Of NITEL, M-TEL.

The House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed the report of its joint committee, stopping the liquidation of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited and its mobile telecommunications subsidiary, M-TEL.

It recommended that, rather than liquidate the firms, the National Council on Privatisation should apply for a bailout of $1bn to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The House said the bailout fund should be "refunded with interest over a period of five years."
It also cancelled the sale of NECOM House located in Lagos.

The lawmakers also asked the Federal Government to "deduct from source," the outstanding N6.2bn salary arrears of NITEL workers and settle the workers, while resuscitating the company.

In addition, the House called on the NCP to "direct the Bureau for Public Enterprise to comply with the Federal High Court judgments in favour of the 3,000 ex-employees of NITEL and M-TEL treated as casuals and the other one in favour of NITEL M-TEL pensioners."

In opposing the liquidation of the firms, the House aligned with the proposal of the ex-workers on how to "revamp" the companies through privatisation.

The lawmakers said fresh technical bids for the firms should be called in line with the recommendations of the NITEL board.

The recommendations were contained in the report of the Joint Committee on Privatisation/Commercialisation, Finance, Communications, Public Procurement and Information Technology, which investigated the failed attempts to privatise the firms.

The report recommended further that the "NCP should direct its records office to eliminate the existing N170bn variance under the supervision of the office of the Auditor-General of the Federation.

"That the NCP should consider the proposal for revamping the companies while privatisation process is as submitted by the ex-workers' consultants and others as an alternative to outright liquidation of NITEL and M-TEL.

"That the NCP should consider Public Private Partnership as a privatisation strategy of the companies and maintain the national carrier status for security reasons.

"That the Federal Government should plead with the state governors to reconcile the N4bn NITEL debt and pay accordingly.

"That the Federal Government should direct Nigerian Communications Commission to include the present management of NITEL and M-TEL in the National Broadband Implementation Road map.

"That NCP should direct BPE and present management of NITEL/M-TEL to include the M-TEL Creditors Forum among those to be paid.

"Reverse the sale of NECOM House, a core asset sold as a non-core asset as it is critical to NITEL and M-TEL operations."