The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has faulted successive administrations since 1999 for selling off critical national assets under the guise of privatization, describing the policy as a major cause of Nigeria’s current infrastructure crisis.
Speaking on the issue, Adebayo said the wholesale sale of government enterprises between 1999 and now has crippled key sectors of the economy.
He particularly blamed the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999–2007) for selling strategic public assets such as the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NICON), and Nigerian Hotels Limited, among others.