The Federal Government has urged host communities, where privatised companies are located, to protect such firms, saying this will ensure optimum capacity utilisation and improve industrialisation in the country.
Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, gave the advice while inspecting the Dangote Cement Plant in Gboko, Benue State, with other members of the policy and monitoring committee of the National Council on Privatisation.
A statement from the ministry on Sunday quoted the minister as saying that host communities stood a better chance of benefiting more if such investments were given all the support to perform at optimal capacity.
He further commended the management of Dangote Cement for the progress recorded in the expansion of cement production and supply across the country.
He added that the visit was a fact-finding one that was aimed at ascertaining the true state of privatised public enterprises, especially in view of the feeling in some quarters that many of them were not performing well.
He said: “I know that many privatised companies are doing well. I believe this (Dangote Cement) is one of them. If this has remained under government control, it wouldn’t have done better.
“The whole essence of privatisation is to improve efficiency and promote investment. Here (Dangote Cement), capacity has been tripled and is about being quadrupled, since privatisation.
