The Federal and State governments had in the past endeavoured to play an active catalytic role in the economy by initiating and acting as sizeable stakeholders in a number of core industries.

The 1997 Budget announced that all laws that inhibit competition in certain sectors of the Nigerian economy would be repealed. Accordingly, with effect from 1998, private sector investors are now free to join or compete with government owned utility corporations.

The Public Enterprises Privatizations and Commercialization Act, authorizes the partial privatization of government enterprises in the following sectors:

• Telecommunications
• Electricity (generation and distribution)
• Petroleum refining
• Coal and bitumen production (mining, processing and export)
• Tourism generation (tour and travels and hospitality)

Within the context of the liberalization policy, both foreigners and nationals are free to participate and invest in the privatization of the public enterprises.

In this regard, the Federal Government constituted the National Council on Privatization under the chairmanship of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to oversee the privatization programme being implemented by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).