By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh says the agency has engaged consultants to carry out a diagnostic review of the health sector with the aim of ensuring availability of health care for out of pocket expenses.
Mr. Okoh who disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Abuja, said the Health Sector reform embarked upon by the Federal government in 2019 was receiving a boost.
According to him, “You notice that at least 80 percent of the population is not covered by any form of health insurance. So when they engage in any form of health care delivery, they have to pay directly from their pockets.
“As such, as we see in other climes, the government decided to take responsibility for providing health care across the citizens.
“We dimensioned the various segments of the health sector: from primary to tertiary. We found out that the major challenge is round funding. Although there are challenges around the administrative framework, the major problem is funding.
“So the President set up the Health Reform Committee which is headed by the Vice President and we looked at the health sector along specific themes. Incidentally the committee met about three weeks ago and we have come up with what we called the Great Paper, a Concept Note: essentially the concept on how to restructure the healthcare delivery system in Nigeria.
“Apart from funding, we are looking at how to move administrative and decision-making powers to the institutions themselves, especially at the Medical Centres and the Teaching Hospitals, where healthcare is delivered.
“In the main, we are trying to reposition the healthcare delivery framework for Nigerians along the line of what you have in the NHIS in the UK where the public can consume healthcare delivery and the government, through various means, including insurance would pay.”
The Director General also disclosed that after initial reluctance the dun nationals have reached an agreement with the Federal government to proceed with the sale of the five power plants built under the National Integrated Power project.
According to him, the transactions could reach a financial bid opening before the end of the year and that the proceeds would be shared between the federal and state governments.
“The expectation in the (FG) 2023 Fiscal plan is to contribute N260 billion (as privatization proceeds) and the key assets that we are looking at are the energy assets. Five of the energy assets.
“Incidentally, we are reaching some understanding with the state governors for the sale of those five power plants. That is what has dragged this transaction for at least the past two years-just getting a common-stakeholder understanding on the critical need to realise value from these assets before they depreciate beyond value.
“Thankfully, last week, we were able to resolve the issue with the state governors. So for these assets, we are likely to reach financial opening of the bids before the end of this year, probably, next week. But the proceeds will come in in the first quarter of next year”, Okoh said.
The D-G expressed optimism that the privatization proceeds contribution to the federal government budget in the 2023 Fiscal Year would exceed the projected N260 billion, after a successful sale of the five power plants.
According to him, the assets have been categorized as federation assets, since they were built with federation revenue, ordinarily shared between the three tiers of government.
Accordingly, he said that the federal government would receive the statutory 47 percent of the privatisatioin proceeds, while the balance of 53 percent would be distributed among the states.
On the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Okoh said the BPE was involved in the fresh process of the concessioning of the Complex, but not presently.
He said that the process was being handled by the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, but that BPE was involved in the resolution of the ownership issues.
His words, “But I can say that we were involved in the resolution of the initial concessioning that went sour because one of the assets that was pledged under the Global Concession, the Warri Port, hard actually been concessioned by the BPE so we were involved in negotiations with Global Infrastructure to take them out of Ajaokuta.
“But the current concessioning process I believe is being handled by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.”
