The Federal Government has decided to liquidate NITEL (Nigerian Telecommunications Limited), the telecommunications company in debt, after failing to sell the company in the past 11 years.

NITEL and its mobile arm M-Tel would be sold through “guided liquidation” in view of the company’s huge liabilities, the Bureau of Public Enterprises said in a statement.

“The TC recommended that ‘guided liquidation’ should be adopted as the strategy for the privatisation of NITEL/M-Tel in view of the huge liabilities of both companies and that there was no viable financial alternative presented by the management of NITEL/M-Tel,” Chukwumah Nwokoh, BPE spokesman, said.

Nwokoh said the NCP supported the recommendation of the Technical Committee that opted for ‘guided liquidation’. Despite, venues not accounting for, “the management of NITEL/M-Tel had been obtaining their salaries from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Consequently, the NCP directed the Sub-Committee of the Technical Committee on Information, Communication, National Facilities and Agric Resources to immediately carry out investigations and ensure that all revenues received were accounted for.”

Speaking to Daily Trust, Elias Kazza, Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporations president, said privatisation efforts on NITEL failed due to the selfish interest of some Nigerians.

Segun Adekoye