Nigerian telecommunications leaders have called on the federal government to investigate the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) over the sale of the state-run telecom operator NITEL. President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Titi Omo-Ettu said on Thursday that he hopes the government takes their demands seriously. He said that BPE officials had been valuing NITEL properties instead of looking at the license that would bring to Nigeria more financial stability. Omo-Ettu argued that the lack of competence over the sale by the BPE is a result of not understanding the overall value of the company, which he argued was far greater than the company's buildings alone. “Many take NITEL to be any other company,” he began at a press conference in Lagos. “The license should not be auctioned at a price that will be a loss to Nigeria because that is what some people are trying to do. “They are trying to reduce the value and buy it for themselves or someone buys it on their behalf and they will claim it later,” he continued, allegedly corruption inside the BPE. “The license should be auctioned at a price befitting a first national carrier. The license is quite expensive and there is a way it should be valued, but unfortunately people are valuing the equipment and the buildings, which are not the valuable things in NITEL.” BM
