By Omodele Adigun
THE Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has urged the international oil companies (IOCs) and the telecommunication firms in the country to honour their agreements with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and list their equities or face sanctions, just as total overhaul of the entire business laws in the country are underway.
The speaker, who dropped the bombshell Friday on the Lagos floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), accused the companies of sharing their huge profits for few investors despite the fact that they make their fortunes off millions of Nigerians.
His words: “We sincerely believe that for us to deepen the market, the telecom companies, the oil & gas companies must list on the market. It is no more acceptable that they are not listed on the Nigerian market but they are quoted elsewhere. The flow of resources from the citizens to these companies is what make them rich, is what give them profits.” He stated that government would be coming out with strategies to make these companies share part of their wealth with Nigerians. “We believe that as responsible government, we have to develop a mechanism through which, even, if it is not all the profit they made that is distributed to the stakeholders, most of whom must be Nigerians, at least a reasonable part of the profit should be shared,” he said. Dogara then pledged that the House would look at the agreements between BPE and the companies with a view to strengthening the relevant clauses , (particularly the Share Sale & Purchase Agreement). I want it to be very clear that as a responsible parliament, and as responsible government, we can’t just sit down and continue to do things the way we are doing things and expect a different results. Nigeria is the number one economy in Africa, our stock market must have corresponding status as the number one in Africa. There is no way we can get there if the major players who make reasonable profits, and just share it for few people, continue to do that.The market will never be deepened; we can never get to the number one position in Africa.
“So for us, to achieve that we will do it even if it means inventing some kind of legislative tools to ensure that that is done. For instance, there is an ongoing discussion of strengthening those clauses in BPE itself, henceforth, to ensure that we emphasize them.
“Once a company is privatized and you are the successful bidder, you must list a reasonable part of your equities.”