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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has backed the sale of some national assets to raise money to tackle the economic recession in the country, describing the proposal as natural.
The former president said port authorities and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) were part of assets that Nigeria could partly sell to generate fund.
His words: “I do not see why 49 per cent of NNPC cannot be privatised.
“I think the problem is in the coinage “selling of asset” as if we want to throw out our inheritance.
“What we are actually doing by that is simply re-organising.
“It should however be done transparently and let it actually go public and not to cabals, relations and friends.
“This is always the fear of Nigerians when issues like this arise,” he said.
Obasanjo expressed confidence in the ability of the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, saying that ” she is doing a marvelous job in a difficult situation and that only time can prove her right”.
Obasanjo also said that Nigeria should diversify and concentrate on the things it could control as it was not in control of oil.
He stressed the need to develop agriculture and opposed policies which tended to turn the nation into a dumping ground for other countries’ products.