Punch Enugu takes over coal corporation properties NOVEMBER 22, 2013 BY AGENCY REPORTER Despite the controversy surrounding the proposed sale of the Nigerian Coal Corporation, the Enugu State Government on Thursday formally took over the two properties it acquired from the Bureau of Public Enterprises under the Federal Government’s privatisation programme. The BPE, a government body tasked with selling public corporations, listed the NCC as an asset for sale on its website about six years ago and until the handover, nothing was heard about the corporation. Some stakeholders had argued that rather than sell the corporation, which is reputed as the oldest of federal institutions in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country, it should be managed to provide employment. The properties include the headquarters of the corporation on Okpara Avenue and the Colliery Hospital both in Enugu. The stakeholders had said that what remained of the corporation was synonymous with coal, just like the Cocoa House in Western Nigeria, the Groundnut Pyramids in the North and other similar titles from natural endowments. The handover ceremony, which was said to have taken place at the conference hall of the Governor’s Office, included the signing of both the deed of assignment and certificate of handover by Governor Chime and the Director-General of BPE, Mr. Benjamin Dikki. Chime said the Colliery Hospital, after renovation, would be dedicated to health care services for women and children, adding that the acquisition of the hospital became necessary in a bid to handle the inadequacies of medical facilities and boost the government’s efforts in the health sector. He said it would reduce the pressure on Park Lane Specialist Hospital and other health institutions in the state, which he said were over-stretched with patients.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 09:24:57 +0000
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