The lawmaker representing Oriade/Obokun in Osun State, Rep. Wole Oke, has backed the plans by the Federal Government to sell some national assets to fund the 2021 budget saying that it is an old practice. Selling of national assets, Oke said is nothing new.
Oke disclosed this on Monday when he appeared on Politics Today on Channels Television saying that most of the national assets being planned for sale are already liabilities to the government.
He said: “The issue of the sale of assets is not new. Even in the previous budgets, there have always been other sources of revenue and the sales of assets is one of such.
“But the critical issue we need to look at, is ‘What assets are we selling?’ Some assets are already liabilities, so what are we keeping them for? That is my humble opinion.
Nothing Wrong With Selling National Assets – Oke
“You have to tell us which assets we are looking at. It is a common saying, which I also believe in, that the government is a bad manager.”
According to Oke, the government cannot run certain businesses effectively.
He said: “Which business has the government run, and ran it very well?” he asked, stating that national assets that are idle need to be deployed productively by the Federal Government.
“Some assets are already liabilities. So, what are you keeping them for?…which business has the government ran and ran very well?”
In articulating his argument for the sale of national assets, Oke would, however, face the opposition of those who say that selling of such assets has been at a loss to the nation. It is alleged that the revenue derived from such sales are spent on frivolities. Many have also pointed at the high expenditure of government with a big overhead weighing down on the polity
