Privatisation of refineries has not started – BPE

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Monday in Abuja said that privatisation of the nation’s four refineries had not started.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Bureau’s Head of Public Communications, Mr Chigbo Anichebe.

It said that before the privatisation process began, the steering committee for the process, which was set up by President Goodluck Jonathan would first meet with other stakeholders.

The statement said that the relevant labour unions would be engaged to allay their concerns before the privatisation process would start.

“We want to provide clarifications that the privatisation process has not commenced.

“It will only commence after the steering committee chaired by the Minister of Petroleum Resources meets to provide the broad guidelines for the transaction,’’ the statement said.

It said that the labour unions were critical stakeholders in the privatisation process, adding that their views would be sought before the commencement of the privatisation process.

“This is in line with what the Federal Government did in the privatisation of the power sector by actively engaging labour.

“All the concerns of the labour unions will be looked into and amicably resolved to ensure the success of the privatisation process,’’ the statement said. (NAN)