Erudite lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has declared that selling the country’s assets is an illegality that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration must not dabble into.
Senior advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana says national assets.
Speaking in his article that was published by Sahara Reporters on Thursday, September 22, Falana gave reasons why national assets must not be sold.
NAIJ.com team has compiled below the insightful reasons he gave.
1. It is unconstitutional
Falana noted that the idea was totally against the provisions of the Nigerian constitution.
He wrote: “It is pertinent to point out that the suggestion is in total conflict with section 16 of the Constitution which has prohibited the concentration of the nation’s wealth in the hands of a few people or a group. Indeed, by section 44 of the Constitution the nation’s natural resources shall be held in trust for the Nigerian people by the federal government.
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“One would have expected senators who swore to protect the Constitution to kick against the suggestion to sell the assets of the nation to a few people. But for selfish considerations a few legislators who may be queuing up to participate in the purchase of the nation’s assets are not prepared to defend the Constitution. If the Senate is genuinely desirous to contribute meaningfully to the debate on the economy it should, as a matter of urgency, propose a substantial reduction in the jumbo emoluments of federal legislators which are said to be the highest in the world.”
2. Buyers engage in asset-stripping
Falana noted that selling national assets was also detrimental to the nation because the buyers mess them up.
He explained: “Under the David Mark-led Senate, a panel was set up to investigate the privatization of the assets of the nation. The panel members found to their utter chagrin that majority of those to whom the nation’s resources were sold engaged in asset stripping to the detriment of the nation. The panel also confirmed that at the end of the privatization exercise the nation became poorer while the buyers have been smiling to the banks.
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“In accepting the report of the panel the senators unanimously passed a resolution that a number of the assets be recovered by the federal government on the ground of fraud, asset stripping, and economic sabotage. As some of the beneficiaries of the dubious privatization policy were then members of the economic team of the Jonathan administration they successfully frustrated the implementation of the patriotic resolution of the Senate. To the extent that the resolution has not been set aside the Buhari administration should implement it in the interest of the national economy.”
3. The assets are undervalued
Falana noted that in the past, assets are sold for far lesser than their worth by corrupt officials to the detriment of the country which spent huge amounts acquiring or constructing them.
“It is on record that whereas the federal government had spent billions of Naira to renovate the properties each of them was fraudulently sold for about N50 million. Many other properties of the federal government in Abuja, Lagos, and other cities were undersold to many public officers and their cronies. Apart from the recovery of the NET building in Lagos which was sold to the father of a legislator for N4 billion instead of the market value of N75 billion the sale of the other 531 properties of NITEL and other agencies of the federal government located in the various parts of the country has not been accounted for.
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“Furthermore, the federal government should recover the official quarters of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives which were illegally sold to Justice Katsina-Alu (rtd), Senator David Mark and Mr. Dimeji Bankole respectively by the Jonathan administration,” Falana said.
There have been several calls for sale of national assets from the likes of business tycoon Aliko Dangote, senate president Bukola Saraki, a former central bank governor and Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and another ex-CBN governor Charles Soludo.
Falana says the calls are inappropriate and should be ignored.
The post Don’t dare! Falana gives three POWERFUL reasons national assets must not be sold appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read Naij.com 24/7.
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